A 9-year-old boy was struck and killed by a yellow school bus at a busy Brooklyn intersection Friday morning, according to police.
The boy was crossing the street at Lee Avenue and Lorimer Street in Williamsburg when he was hit by the bus around 8:20 a.m., police said.
First responders found the boy unconscious and unresponsive with severe injuries to his head and body.
The victim, identified by police as Joel Jacobowitz, of Brooklyn, was declared dead at the scene.
The bus driver, a 49-year-old man, initially fled but returned once he realized he’d hit someone, sources told The Post.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani said in an X post he was “devastated” by the tragic loss.
“My heart is with his family and loved ones as they endure this tragic loss,” he stated.
“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.”
No charges have been filed at this time.
Neighbors told The Post the intersection where the tragic incident took place is always bustling and was recently paved, leaving the stretch of pavement without a marked crosswalk.
“There is no crosswalk over here for the kids to identify where to cross so the kid probably missed the spot where to cross so he crossed outside of the vantage point of the bus driver,” father of five Shia Kohn said.
“I am a father of kids. It’s terrible seeing it happened. I’m sending my kids off to school every day. You miss a heartbeat every time something like that happens.”
Robert Santiago, 58, said the crash scene is at a “very busy corner.”
“It’s scary. These are kids,” said Robert Santiago, 58, as he carried his granddaughter on his shoulders.
“I worry about the children. There is a school nearby.”
He said buses drive too fast and zip through red lights.
“They need to slow down, Santiago said.
Councilman Lincoln Restler called on city officials to make immediate safety improvements to the area, calling Jacobowitz’s death an “unimaginable loss.”
“No community should have to endure a tragedy like this,” he said.
