NYPD Tow-Truck Driver Charged After Boy Killed in Fort Greene
Police said Stephanie Sharp, an NYPD civilian tow-truck driver, hit 7-year-old Kamari Hughes at Myrtle and North Portland avenues as he crossed with the signal on his way to school with his mother.
What We Know
On Oct. 26, 2023, Kamari Hughes, 7, was crossing Myrtle Avenue at North Portland Avenue in Fort Greene when police said Stephanie Sharp, a civilian NYPD tow-truck driver, hit him while making a right turn. City crash records say the child was crossing with the signal and list failure to yield as a contributing factor. Police charged Sharp with failure to yield to a pedestrian and failure to exercise due care, and she was released with a court-appearance ticket. NYPD Chief Jeffrey Maddrey said the driver stopped immediately, while two witnesses told the Post that bystanders stopped her after she continued forward.
A right turn at the crosswalk
The crash happened at 7:52 a.m. on Oct. 26, 2023, at Myrtle Avenue and North Portland Avenue in Brooklyn. City records say a 7-year-old pedestrian was crossing with the signal at the intersection when a licensed driver in a 2019 Ford tow truck was making a right turn; the record lists failure to yield right-of-way as a contributing factor.
Police and the Post identified the child as Kamari Hughes and the driver as Stephanie Sharp, 54, a civilian member of the NYPD. The Post reported that Kamari was riding a scooter and crossing Myrtle Avenue with his mother on the way to school when Sharp hit him in the crosswalk. Police said he was pronounced dead at the scene.
The intersection sits beside Fort Greene Park
The Post described the crossing at Myrtle and North Portland avenues as just outside Fort Greene Park. Gothamist reported that the death intensified neighborhood criticism of street safety in Fort Greene and nearby Clinton Hill, where residents and advocates said the city had not done enough to protect people walking and biking.
Gothamist also reported that after the fatal crash, the city changed the crosswalk timing at Myrtle and North Portland avenues so pedestrians could begin crossing a few seconds before drivers received a green light.
Police charged the driver and accounts differed on whether she stopped
Police charged Sharp with failure to yield to a pedestrian and failure to exercise due care, then released her with a court-appearance ticket, the Post reported.
NYPD Chief Jeffrey Maddrey told reporters that the tow-truck driver stopped immediately. The Post also quoted witnesses Marlo Stevens and Antwoan Hayes, who said the driver continued forward before bystanders intervened.