Police have identified the 9-year-old Brooklyn boy who was struck and killed by a school bus driver Friday morning while he was on his way to school.
Little Joel Jacobowitz was five blocks from his home in Williamsburg and trying to cross the street when he was hit by the 49-year-old bus driver as he was turning left from Lee Ave. onto Lorimer St., cops said.
“I am devastated by the loss of a 9-year-old boy struck this morning while crossing the street in Williamsburg,” Mayor Mamdani said Friday on X. “My heart is with his family and loved ones as they endure this tragic loss.”
“Children should be safe walking around our city, and this horrific road death is a painful reminder that we must continue to use every tool available to make our streets safe for all New Yorkers,” the mayor added.
Medics rushed the child to Woodhull Hospital, where he died. 1010 WINS reported he was buried in New Jersey.
The driver initially continued driving, but quickly returned to the scene after somebody flagged him down and told him he had struck someone.
It was not immediately disclosed if there were children on the school bus when the accident occurred. No charges were immediately filed as police were still investigating the incident.
A local resident noted that the intersection’s redesign shifted the crossing area roughly 15 feet away from where it previously had been.
“They moved the crosswalk. That’s why the kid was in that section. He was used to crossing there,” said Shia Kohn, 41, a father of five. “There’s no crosswalk over there to identify. It would’ve helped if he had the markings in the street.”
Councilman Lincoln Restler (D-Brooklyn), who represents parts of Williamsburg, said the busy, five-way intersection where the child was killed was recently under construction and had no painted crosswalks or street markings.