NYPD Truck Driver Charged in 7-Year-Old’s Death
The NYPD tow truck driver who cops say struck and killed a 7-year-old in Brooklyn on Thursday faces just 30 days behind bars from charges of failure to yield and failure to exercise due care, authorities said on Friday.
Stephanie Sharp, 54, struck and killed the boy, identified by members of the community as Kamari Hughes, in the crosswalk while turning her right off Myrtle Avenue onto N. Portland Avenue in Fort Greene, according to NYPD and witnesses.
Sharp kept driving after the moment of impact — only stopped some 100 feet passed the intersection after an area resident stood in front of her truck, witnesses said.
Failure to yield to a pedestrian or cyclist carries a maximum sentence of 30 days in jail. Drivers are rarely convicted. (A spokesperson for Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez said the investigation is ongoing to determine if additional charges are warranted.)
Hughes’s mother described her son as “amazing” in an interview with the Daily News.
“He was only 7,” Taqunda Hughes, 37, told the paper through tears.
The block of N. Portland between Myrtle and Auburn Place is a dangerous spot, with 53 reported crashes since January 2020. Those crashes injured seven cyclists, seven motor vehicle occupants and two pedestrians, according to Crashmapper.
Mayor Adams promised to “do whatever it takes to keep our streets safe” in response to the tragedy, but his administration has been slow-walking several key safety improvements in the area.
Just two weeks ago, Adams said city workers would be going door-to-door to collect input on the “open street” redesign of Underhill Avenue — which is years in the making and most of the way through installation.
The city also scaled back another key project in the area, the protected bike lane on Navy Street/Ashland Place, after one of the mayor’s top advisors intervened on behalf of a local developer.
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story reported the wrong name for the victim based on incorrect information provided by the NYPD.
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