Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Carnage

Unlicensed Driver Pleads Guilty in Brooklyn Hit-and-Run Death

NYPD has a get-out-of-jail-free card for drivers of large trucks who strike and kill people. Image: News 12

A motorist who killed a man in Brooklyn has pled guilty to leaving the scene and driving without a valid license.

Brian Young struck 28-year-old Francis Perez as Perez crossed Avenue V in Sheepshead Bay on the night of September 23, 2016.

Perez
Perez
Perez

Perez had just walked out of a store with snacks for his 8-year-old son when Young rammed him with a Toyota SUV and kept driving.

“The guy flew in the air, and then the [driver]… stopped at that corner and just drove off,” a witness told the Daily News.

Prosecutors charged Young, then 47, with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death and third degree aggravated unlicensed operation. The Brooklyn district attorney’s office declined to charge Young for the act of killing Perez.

Under state law the penalty for hit-and-run can be less severe than the penalty for a drunk driver who injures or kills someone and remains at the scene, a statutory flaw Albany legislators have for years failed to fix.

Leaving the scene of a fatal crash is a class D felony with penalties ranging from probation to seven years in prison. Third degree aggravated unlicensed operation is a low-level misdemeanor. Young pled guilty to both charges Wednesday, according to court records.

Young is scheduled to be sentenced in May.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

MTA’s Lieber Asks City to Put More Cops on Bus Lane Enforcement

Lieber told City Council members he wants more "dedicated funding for traffic enforcement to keep the [bus] lanes clear of private vehicles."

March 17, 2026

Brooklyn Residents: Keep Historic Wood Bridge For Pedestrians And Cyclists Only!

As the Department of Transportation is set to reopen the Carroll Street Bridge, locals want it to only reopen to pedestrians and cyclists.

March 17, 2026

Tuesday’s Headlines: We Love A Parade (For Pedestrians) Edition

Organizers of today's St. Patrick's Parade are telling everyone to leave their cars at home. Plus other news.

March 17, 2026

Mamdani Uses ‘Sammy’s Law’ To Reduce Speed Limits To 15 MPH At Schools, But Broader Implementation Is Stalled

By the end of this year, 800 more streets in front of public school buildings will get 15-mile-per-hour speed limits, bringing the citywide total to 1,300. It's a start.

Amazon Owes Nearly $10M Unpaid Fines for Idling in New York City

The online retail giant owes more than any other other company issued fines through the city's Citizens Air Complaint Program.

March 16, 2026

Mamdani Administration Wants To Allow A Brooklyn Hospital To Issue Parking Tickets

Could parking tickets be written by someone other than NYPD traffic agents and cops? Time will tell if this is a good idea or not.

March 16, 2026
See all posts