An alleged hit-and-run driver was arrested Friday after fatally striking a pedestrian in Bushwick.
Police said the victim, 59-year-old Bushwick resident Marco Tirado Gallardo, was crossing DeKalb Avenue at Wyckoff Street in the crosswalk just after 9:30 a.m. when Lennis Escalona Luna, driving an 18-foot-long delivery truck, ran over him in the sidewalk as he attempted to turn right onto DeKalb Avenue.
Luna reportedly fled the scene, leaving Gallardo in the street. Paramedics rushed the victim to Wyckoff Heights Medical Center with “severe trauma,” where he was later pronounced dead.
According to the New York Daily News, police identified the company that owned the truck and had the company’s owner summon Luna back to headquarters hours after the crash, where he was taken into custody. He was charged with failure to yield to a pedestrian and failure to exercise due care. Under New York State law, both charges carry hefty fines or possible short jail sentences.
Since 2019, the intersection of Wyckoff and DeKalb avenues has seen three crashes resulting in four injuries, according to NYC CrashMapper. Dozens more have been reported at surrounding intersections along the busy DeKalb Avenue. In 2020, a 77-year-old woman was fatally struck by a driver on DeKalb Avenue just a block from the scene of Friday’s crash.
Large vehicles — including trucks of all kinds — pose a particular threat to pedestrians on city streets. Earlier this year, an 83-year-old woman was killed by a dump truck driver in Boerum Hill — less than a year after an 86-year-old pedestrian was fatally struck by a dump truck in Williamsburg. Dozens of Brooklynites have been injured in recent years by delivery trucks, dump trucks, and standard pickup trucks.
“My deepest condolences to the loved ones of the victim,” said Bushwick Council Member Sandy Nurse on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “Our city must take stronger action to prevent pedestrian fatalities and ensure safer streets for all.”
