My Son Was Hit By a Car; the Driver Didn’t Apologize

In a painful open letter to the community, a Crown Heights parent says that last night their young son was struck by a vehicle as he was crossing the street. The driver, a member of our community, then added insult to injury.

Update: The driver (through CrownHeights.info) reached out to the family of the boy who was hit. She personally apologized to the boy and has offered to pay for any damage.

by Anonymous

It’s happening too often in our Community. Drivers need to slow down, especially when turning.

Last night at approximately 7:15 pm our son, on his way to Yeshivas Erev, was riding his scooter along the Northern sidewalk of Empire Blvd. and across the intersection with New York Ave.  He tells us he had a walk signal and there were no cars he saw.  As he was mid-intersection, a black-colored car came up very quickly, turned right from Empire Blvd. onto New York Ave., and went into him, riding over part of his scooter and knocking him to the ground.

The driver, who appeared to our son to be a middle-aged Jewish woman from our Community, stopped but never got out of her car, nor even opened her window.  According to our son and a witness, when it appeared to her that our son looked okay, she nodded her head and drove off.

While our son was not badly hurt physically (he has a bruised arm, his eye glasses were knocked off and fell down the sewer and lost, and his scooter was damaged), he is more hurt emotionally that this woman, whom he believes to be from our community, just drove off without getting out of her car to really make sure he wasn’t hurt.

He drew this picture of the accident:

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32 Comments

  • it's outrageous

    how could someone not stop?!

    In general, people drive outrageously in this community. I am an adult, who can easily be seen, and still I’ve been almost knocked over too many times to count.

    Please, people, slow down! Wait for pedestrians to cross before you go whizzing round the corner.

  • a lot of this going around

    narcissist
    [nahr-suh-sist]
    a person who is overly self-involved, and often vain and selfish

  • Hit and run

    There are cameras there. find out who it is and have the woman pay for the damages and do some community servicing time.

  • she was wrong...

    However you are irresponsible for allowing him to ride a scooter and cross streets on it, without proper supervision

    • blame the victim

      i bet you know who did this. Might even have been you, or your wife/mother.

      what I don’t understand is he was just yards from the 71st. How did he get home? Nobody called for help (forget this woman, she is apiece of garbage.) But it’s a busy intersection.

      Parent, INSIST they find this poor excuse for a human being, make sure she is prosecuted AND sue her sheitel off for damages.

    • Don't blame the victim

      Excuse me? This boy is old enough to go to yeshiva. He shouldn’t need constant supervision. Empire and NY Av is the corner of the police station….
      The driver is totally at fault.
      At the very least, she needs to ask mechila. For her own good. Remember even thought the brothers admitted their guilt, Yosef never actually forgave them, and 10 of our greatest sages were murdered as a result.

    • why does he need supervision

      yeshivas erev isnt for little kids only fifth grade and up. and i think a ten year old is old enough to walk himself.

  • visionary

    On a side note – people need to get their noses out of their cell phones when crossing the street and even walking on the sidewalks. Stop and watch how many people are oblivious to their surroundings. Someone can get seriously hurt.

  • Press charges

    Regardless that your son feels ok he should been seen by doctor (he should have been brought to hospital). The driver should be charged with hit and run. My wife was hit by Jewish lady who left the seen. It is unbelievable the behavior with people in crown heights I can’t wait to leave I should be leaving soon.

    • Relative

      The child was brought to a doctor. Regarding pressing charges we have a Torah to live by…

  • Alex

    Thank heaven above your son is alive! More should be done to prevent these things from happening. People need to slow down, what’s the rush?

  • rdz

    i was hit by a driver in a similar incident many years ago while walking on empire blvd. A middle aged woman in a mini van made a u-turn out of a parking lot and hit me. i thought i was ok and started to walk toward her car. she drove off. business owner refused to help me identify the woman.

  • Law abiding citizen

    A case of hit a run. The driver broke the law. Don’t be Mr. Nice Guy!

  • Outraged!

    V’ahavata l’rreacha kamocha, eh?

    Absolutely disgraceful behavior.

    BH the ingel is okay.

    An outraged Mother and Bubby!

  • Hit and run

    Find out who it was and press charges. It is against
    the law to leave the scene of an accident.

  • I was almost hit by a car on that corner

    I’m in Bais rivkah high school… I was walking home a few days ago and i crossed empire (from the police station to the church) the light was green and i didn’t see any cars.. when i was almost across a taxi zoomed up new york and turned onto empire. it almost hit me. thank god i was walking slowly that day, I usually walk faster. The next day on my way home I checked carefully for cars and I noticed it was impossible to see if the blinkers were on because the sun was shining straight onto the cars. DRIVERS BE CAREFUL. if the light is green to walk, check that no one is crossing, then turn, and if god forbid you hit someone, dont run away like the person in this article did, even if they appear uninjured. pedestrians need to be careful when the cross, true, but if you suddenly speed around the corner how can we see that coming.

  • Asher

    I VERY OFTEN see people drive up Kingston at night without their lights on.
    Two weeks ago a guy with a minivan full of people (i assume his own wife and kids) was doing so and I tried getting his attention by waving. Unfortunately he didn’t see me …. Because he was looking at his phone!!!!
    Traffic police should come here for a few days to write up some hefty summonses. Then there will be articles about anti Semitism for a few days but after that it might become safer to walk the streets.

  • Outrageous

    Give your phone number to allow this lady to call and apologize or she should contact the Rov to explain herself.
    If she doesn’t it 2 days press charges after consulting with the beisDin

  • Just maybe

    Perhaps the driver didn’t realize she hit someone. That can be the case.

  • To #13

    I didn’t press charges when I was assaulted by a member of Anash (& I was in the ER.) I felt it wasn’t right… but I had a psak to do so. I was wrong. By thinking I’m frummer than the Rabbonim I just empowered this lunatic.

    Speak to a Rav. a) you have to replace his glasses, his scooter, & maybe pay for counseling or further treatment (you don’t know if he will start having some delayed pain.) But more importantly… this woman needs to be taught a lesson. There needs to be consequences. She didn’t even get out of the car to see if he was hurt or to take him home, or call Hatzalah.

  • Anon

    Before saying ‘we have a Torah’, did you actually ask a rav? Because maybe its pekuach nefesh- if people are charged then others might start driving more carefully and that could save lives.

  • M m

    BH
    BSD

    THIS COMMUNITY AND US ARE LOOKED UPON WITH HIGHER STANDARDS THAN REST OF KLAL YISROEL…WE ARE THE REBBE’S NEIGHBORHOOD..WE ARE THE REBBE’S CHILDREN…WE ALL NEED TO ALWAYS ACT TO BRING ABOUT WHAT THE REBBE WANTED MOST,IF WE DONT…WE ARE LAUGHED AT..AND MOCKED AND HATED..YES BY OUR FELLOW JEWS
    LETS GET IT RIGHT ALREADY..
    PLEASE

  • Sorry,

    Sorry your son (and you) have had to go through this.

    I wonder if when the driver saw your son get up so quickly she figured she had hit something but B”H not him and that is why she drove off.

    Just trying to be dan l’kaf zechus, but really hoping the driver will see this letter and call you and your son to apologize and reimburse whatever damage she caused.

    • Father of the boy

      Driver learned of the letter, had a third party locate us through CrownHeights.info and we arranged for her to speak with our son and apologize. She explained she had not been feeling well, but regrets how she handled it. She offered to pay for any damage. We accepted her apology.

    • Baruch Hashem it ended well.

      Baruch Hashem it ended well. lessons learned 1st and foremost be more careful!! and 2nd h’ve dan le’kav zichos

  • THE LAW

    what this driver did by leaving the scene is against the law! That is called a HIT AND RUN! She should not be diving a car if she has so little regard for a human life!!!!

  • Anonymous

    B”H
    My adult son was hit by a member of Anash several years ago on Purim night as he was crossing with the light on Eastern Parkway and Kingston in the direction of Bofa. He was struck to the ground. He saw the driver of the SUV and the driver saw him. They both know each other. The driver didn’t say a word and left the scene. A scene it was as hatzala was called and it was even reported on this website with pictures. Baruch HaShem, our son was not injured other than being bruised and badly shaken. We consider this our Purim miracle. The most painful part was the shock that the young man never called and never apologized.

    To this day every time I turn from Kingston to EP I drive like 1 mile an hour remembering what chas v’shalom could have happened.

    The only reason I write this is that the young man who did this could still apologize.