A 3-year-old boy was struck and killed by a van delivering candy to 86th Street concessions as he was making a turn from Bay 25th Street onto Benson Avenue in Bath Beach this afternoon, police said.
Witnesses say the child, identified as Emur Shavkator, was with his mother riding a small green scooter on Benson Avenue at around 12:45 p.m. when he was struck by the van as it made a right turn onto Benson.
The boy, who was unconscious when first responders pulled him out from underneath the van, was rushed to Coney Island Hospital where he died, police officials said.
The driver of the van, 61-year-old Johnny Gonzalez of Bensonhurst, stayed at the scene and was later arrested and charged with failure to yield to a pedestrian and failure to exercise due care.
A green two-wheel scooter was still under the van as police investigated.
A crossing guard who works around the corner from the incident said drivers operate dangerously in her community.
“I see drivers do stupid things here all the time. They race by me, they run lights, stop signs and sometimes I try to get their license plates, but it happens so fast,” she said. “I hope we can find a way for people to just slow down.”
There have been 977 collisions in the 62nd Precinct this year, up 1.1 percent for the same time period last year. Total traffic related injuries are at 260, up 16.6 percent with three total fatalities, up 200 percent percent from a single death last year.
Along Benson Avenue, going five blocks in either direction from Bay 25th Street, there were 10 collisions this year. There was one at the exact same intersection on April 13.
“They always blow the stop sign over here, they almost ran me over,” added Michael Lagano, a resident of Benson Avenue for 58 years.
Paul Maciag, a resident of Benson Avenue for seven years, said he is always worried about his three children walking safely near where the boy was killed.
“This is a dangerous street because there is a stop sign at that corner and people don’t always stop,” he said. “It is really shocking.”
Another Benson Avenue resident, who asked not to be identified, said he saw the accident happen while on his way home from 86th Street.
“I saw the lady screaming and jumping and I said, ‘What the hell, the kid is under the truck,’” he said. “I think the kid broke away from the mother. It was madness, just horrible.”
Additional reporting by Ned Berke
Update (4:30 p.m.): This story was updated to include the identities of the child and the driver as well as information about the driver’s arrest.
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