UPDATED: Cops Arrest Hit-and-Run Driver Who Killed Pedestrian in Queens
Updated: Cops cuffed the hit-and-run driver who killed a man on July 25 in Queens — just hours after one of the deadliest days — in a very deadly year — on the streets of New York City.
The NYPD says it charged the driver, 26-year-old David Garcia, with manslaughter, criminally negligent, homicide, reckless endangerment, and even the far more serious crime of leaving the scene of an accident for killing 56-year-old Sivananaintha Perumal near Woodhaven Boulevard and 91st Avenue at about 5 a.m. Garcia fled, and paramedics could not save Perumal, who died at the scene.
Police did have many details, but a spokesperson for the NYPD said the driver was heading south on Woodhaven Boulevard when he fatally struck the victim. Police could not say where the victim was crossing, but images from NY1 show the investigation area in the middle of one of Woodhaven Boulevard’s six lanes of traffic. Police are still investigating.
The fatal hit-and-run happened near the spot where another driver struck a 28-year-old cyclist on Wednesday. The biker is in critical condition. And one day before that, two different drivers hit and killed two different cyclists in one day — one in Staten Island and the other in Greenpoint.
Since last June, there have been 27 total crashes at that intersection, resulting in one injured cyclist and now one dead pedestrian.
The unnamed victim is now at least the 118th person killed on New York roadways this year and the 60th pedestrian, according to Department of Transportation data through July 23 — fatalities that are up 16 percent and 7 percent respectively.
Mayor de Blasio is poised to announce a major safety initiative on Thursday at 2 p.m.
