Driver in private sanitation truck kills pedestrian near Barclays
At 3:32 p.m. on March 4, 2022, a driver in a private sanitation truck hit and killed a 62-year-old pedestrian at Flatbush and Atlantic avenues near Barclays Center, and police said the driver remained at the scene.
What We Know
Police recorded the fatal crash at 3:32 p.m. on March 4, 2022, at Flatbush Avenue and Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn. News reports said the driver was operating a private sanitation or trash-hauling truck near Barclays Center, hit the pedestrian in the roadway, and remained at the scene while police questioned him. The official record identifies the person killed as a 62-year-old man and lists one pedestrian death. A witness told the Daily News the truck driver was turning right from Atlantic Avenue into Flatbush Avenue. Brooklyn Paper reported that police had not yet determined whether the pedestrian was in a crosswalk; the later official record listed the pedestrian as crossing outside a signal or crosswalk and not at an intersection.
A fatal crash beside Barclays Center
The official record places the crash at 3:32 p.m. at Flatbush Avenue and Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn and records one pedestrian killed. Brooklyn Paper reported that police said a driver in a garbage truck hit a 62-year-old pedestrian in the roadway near Barclays Center, where first responders pronounced the victim dead.
The Daily News reported a witness account that the truck driver was turning right from Atlantic Avenue into Flatbush Avenue. The same report said the driver remained at the scene and was questioned by police.
The person killed and the driver
The official record identifies the person killed as a 62-year-old male pedestrian. Police had not released his name in the reviewed reports, pending family notification.
The official vehicle record lists one male, licensed driver in the dump truck, with a Pennsylvania license. Brooklyn Paper reported that no arrests had been made as of its March 4 report.
The truck involved
The official record lists a 2016 KW truck or bus categorized as a dump truck, traveling north and starting in traffic before the crash. The Daily News reported that the truck was operated by Safeway, a carting company in Little Neck, Queens, and that a person who answered the company phone declined comment.
Crosswalk status appeared differently across records
Brooklyn Paper reported that police had not yet determined whether the pedestrian was within a crosswalk at the time of the crash. The later official record listed the pedestrian as not at an intersection and crossing without a signal or crosswalk.
A heavily traveled Atlantic Avenue corridor
The crash site was recorded at Flatbush Avenue and Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn. CrashCountNYC's Atlantic Avenue corridor context shows 4,096 crashes, 2,408 injuries, 109 serious injuries and 10 deaths from the start of 2022 through June 1, 2026.
Local officials called for action
Council Member Lincoln Restler wrote after the crash that a pedestrian fatality involving a private sanitation truck had occurred at Atlantic and Flatbush and said, “My heart goes out to the neighbor we lost and his loved ones.” He also called the location “one of the most dangerous intersections in NYC” and said traffic deaths are avoidable.