A multi-car crash on Atlantic Avenue left one man dead and one injured on Wednesday afternoon.
The dead man, whom police identified as Al Fernandez, 75, was a fixture at the corner of Hoyt Street and Atlantic Avenue, where he often sat and read on a bench outside the corner deli where he was killed.
According to police, a minivan traveling eastbound on Atlantic Avenue at around noon was hit from behind by an ambulette as it waited make a right turn.
The crash sent the minivan directly into Fernandez and another man, whose identity was not released.
Area residents said the intersection has seen bad accidents before.
“It’s a racetrack,” said Sandy Balboza, of the Atlantic Avenue Betterment Association, which has asked city officials to change the timing of some stoplights. “Cars go very fast, and the lights let them.”
