BENSONHURST'S PREMIER NEWS BLOG

Source: Villy Fink Isaksen, "Ghost Bike" via Wikimedia Commons

The grieving family of the 13-year-old boy killed in one of the weekend’s two hit-and-runs is now asking neighbors for help burying their son.

The 13-year-old, Henry Garcia, was bicycling home from a family errand on Saturday when he fell of his bike on 20th Avenue near 80th Street. A green SUV struck Garcia, killing him, and then fled the scene.

Garcia came from an immigrant Guatemalan family whose father earns $500 a week at a local bakery, the Daily News reports, not nearly enough to cover the burial costs.

The News adds that the family is planning to fly the body back to Guatemala this week to bury him there.

Las Rosas Funeral Home is donating a funeral mass later this week. But the family still needs funds to cover other funeral-related costs.

To donate, call (718) 236-3312.

Source: Google Maps

A 75-year-old man is the victim of another Bensonhurst hit and run. He clings to life in Lutheran Hospital after being struck by a box truck near the 86th Street and Bay 31st intersection as he attempted to cross the street.

A Bensonhurst Bean reader shared the Facebook posts of a friend who witnessed the incident.

“Some old man was crossing the street and a car was speeding and he hit him the guy flew mid air and flew into the train post” the reader’s friend posted. “Theres blood everywhere the poor old mans grocery’s are scattered everywhere.”

Police are still looking for the driver of the truck, according to News12.com.

Source: Villy Fink Isaksen, "Ghost Bike" via Wikimedia Commons

A 13-year-old boy was hit by a driver in a green SUV just a few blocks from his Bensonhurst home on Saturday afternoon.

The accident took place near 20th Avenue and 80th Street. Henry Garcia had been riding his bike when he fell off. The truck mowed him down and then sped off.

The victim was taken to a nearby where he was pronounced dead.

No arrests have been made yet.

"NYPD - Blue" via Flickr by Alejandro Mejía Greene

On October 10, 2010, at 20th Avenue and 65th Street, Brooklyn firefighter Pat Quagliariello struck and killed 25-year-old Guatemalan immigrant Manuel Tzajguachiac. He immediately fled the scene.

Last week, Quagliariello pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor of fleeing the scene of a crime and received a slap-on-the-wrist plea deal. His sentence includes speaking at 35 high schools about driving safety and accident prevention. He does not have to serve any jail time.

The firefighter was texting and speeding in his BMW SUV when he struck Tzajguachiac, who was crossing the street. He surrendered to police four hours later, after he stopped to pick up his brother, NYPD detective Anthony Quagliariello. When questioned by officers at the 62nd Precinct, he refused a breathalyzer test.

The accident was captured by a nearby surveillance camera.

Quagliariello is assigned to Ladder 172, located a few blocks from the scene of the crash. He was initially suspended for 30 days without pay and has been on desk duty since the investigation began.

According the Daily News, he has a rap sheet for a 1992 felony attempted assault and served one day in jail and five years’ probation. His EMT certification was also suspended in 2005 for a year because he did not reveal his conviction when applying for the certification.

Last week, 82-year-old driver and local business owner Guy Saladino struck a bicyclist on 18th Avenue after reportedly trying to flee a collision with a school bus.

The cyclist, a 62-year-old Chinese food deliveryman, was rushed to Maimonides Hospital in critical condition after being smacked into by Saladino’s car at the intersection of 18th Avenue and 72nd Street.

The 62-year-old cyclist later died, while Saladino, who allegedly tried to run from the scene, has been charged with manslaughter.

In the comment sections of many of these types of stories, readers will often demand new requirements for drivers once they reach a certain age.

What do you think?

Should older drivers be retested in order to retain their driving privileges?

The following is a press release from the office of Councilman David Greenfield:

Brooklyn, NY – Councilman David G. Greenfield (D-Brooklyn), Flatbush Shomrim and the family of fatal hit-and-run victim Noah Foxman are asking any local residents or businesses with a video surveillance system to immediately turn over all footage from the evening of Thursday, January 26 to Flatbush Shomrim or NYPD, which are conducting the ongoing investigation into this crime. Continue Reading »

Hit and run suspect found in Bensonhurst backyard (image by Ken Murray for Daily News)

[UPDATE 5:45 p.m.] The suspect has been identified as Brian Pittsley who, according to Brooklyn Daily, may have been squatting in a house on Bay 20th Street between Benson Avenue and 86th Street. The Post is reporting that Pittsley has an arrest record which includes five priors since 2003, including grand larceny, assault, resisting arrest and petit larceny.

It looks like we finally know what all that police activity before – near 18th Avenue and 83rd Street – was about.

According to the Daily News, police were nabbing a hit and run suspect from a Monday night crash in Staten Island. The suspect (pictured above) is currently unidentified.

From the News:

A Brooklyn man has been arrested as the driver in Monday night’s horrific hit-and-run crash in Staten Island that killed a teenager and injured six others, a police source said.

The unidentified suspect sparked a police dragnet around 11 a.m. Tuesday after he fled his Bensonhurst home when detectives tried to question him, a source said.

He was caught hiding in a backyard a few blocks away.

He is still being questioned and has not been charged.

Cops believe the man was speeding in a 1992 Chevy Suburban carrying seven passengers at about 9:30 p.m. Monday when he blew through a stop sign at the intersection of Hillside Terrace and Hylan Blvd. in Eltingville.

A 2009 Nissan Sentra, which was traveling northbound on Hylan Blvd., struck the back of the SUV, causing the Suburban’s driver to loose control and careen into the back of a parked 2003 Chevy Trailblazer.

The Suburban then bounced off the parked SUV and flipped over, ejecting at least one passenger onto the street, cops said.

Angel Rivera, 17, was thrown from the rear seat on driver’s side of the vehicle. He died a short time later at the hospital, police said.

A 17-year-old-girl lost part of her right arm in the accident, police said. Five other passengers suffered cuts bruises and fractures. None of those injuries were life threatening.

The driver of the Suburban climbed from the wreck and fled on foot leaving his injured passengers behind. Cops said the vehicle was not registered.

The 20-year-old driver of the Nissan suffered only bumps and bruises. He was not charged with a crime.