Driver charged after Bushwick pedestrian dies in hit-and-run
A driver making a right turn at De Kalb and Wyckoff avenues failed to yield to a 59-year-old pedestrian crossing with the signal on Oct. 18, 2024, city data says, and police later charged Lennis Escalona Luna after the man died.
What We Know
On the morning of Oct. 18, 2024, a driver making a right turn at De Kalb and Wyckoff avenues failed to yield to a 59-year-old pedestrian who was crossing with the signal, according to city crash data. Police told reporters the driver was in a white box truck and did not remain at the scene. News reports identified the pedestrian in most accounts as Marco Gallardo Tirado and identified the arrested driver as Lennis Escalona Luna, 42. Medics took the pedestrian to Wyckoff Heights Medical Center, where he died. Police later charged Luna with failure to yield to a pedestrian and failure to exercise due care.
A right turn at a Bushwick intersection ended in a death
City crash data records the crash at 9:36 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 18, 2024, at De Kalb Avenue and Wyckoff Avenue in Brooklyn. It records one pedestrian killed and no other injuries.
Police told reporters that medics took the 59-year-old pedestrian to Wyckoff Heights Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
De Kalb Avenue has a heavy recent crash toll
The fatal crash happened at De Kalb Avenue and Wyckoff Avenue in Bushwick, Brooklyn, near Wyckoff Heights Medical Center, which the Daily News described as two blocks from the scene.
CrashCountNYC's location context for DeKalb Avenue in Brooklyn counts 1,052 crashes, 570 injuries, 31 serious injuries and one death since 2022.
The victim's name was reported two ways
The Daily News and Brooklyn Eagle identified the pedestrian as 59-year-old Marco Gallardo Tirado. Brooklyn Paper identified him as 59-year-old Bushwick resident Marco Tirado Gallardo.
Brooklyn Paper quoted Council Member Sandy Nurse offering condolences to the victim's loved ones and calling for stronger action to prevent pedestrian deaths and make streets safer.
A commercial truck was described in press accounts
City data classifies the involved vehicle as a van and lists a 2025 FRHT truck/bus make, with one licensed New York driver recorded. Press reports described a white box truck; Brooklyn Paper described an 18-foot delivery truck.
Failure to yield was the recorded contributing factor
City data lists failure to yield right-of-way as the contributing factor for the van driver. The same record says the driver was traveling east and making a right turn before impact, and the pedestrian was crossing with the signal at the intersection.
Press descriptions do not line up exactly on the pedestrian's position: the Daily News described him as crossing midblock near Wyckoff Avenue, while the Brooklyn Eagle and Brooklyn Paper described him in a crosswalk.
Police arrested the assigned driver after tracing the truck
The Daily News reported that investigators used the truck's U.S. Department of Transportation number to identify the company that owned it, went to the company's Park Slope headquarters, and identified Lennis Escalona Luna as the employee assigned to the truck.
The Daily News reported that Luna's boss asked him to return to the base, where police took him into custody. The Daily News and Brooklyn Paper reported that police charged Luna with failure to yield to a pedestrian and failure to exercise due care.