9-year-old boy fatally struck by school bus in Williamsburg
Council Member Lincoln Restler, who was at the scene briefly, said the boy was in the driver’s blind spot and was killed on impact.
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A 9-year-old boy was killed Friday morning, after police say he was struck by a yellow school bus. They say it happened shortly before 8:30 a.m. near Lee Avenue and Lorimer Street.
Police identified that boy as 9-year-old Joel Jacobowitz.
Sources tell News 12 that the school bus was traveling on Lee Avenue and making a left turn onto Lorimer Street when it hit the child.
Council Member Lincoln Restler, who was at the scene briefly, said the boy was in the driver’s blind spot and was killed on impact.
Sources say the driver continued driving and did not realize the child had been struck.
Authorities later located the driver and brought the bus back to the scene, where the NYPD Highway Patrol Collision Investigation Squad gathered evidence.
The deadly crash happened in the heart of Williamsburg’s Orthodox Jewish community, which residents say the boy was part of.
Throughout the morning, members of a special team were seen cleaning blood from the street and the bus in accordance with religious customs.
After the intersection reopened around noon, NYPD officers were stationed at corners, directing pedestrians and telling people not to cross until they had the right of way.
The fatal crash comes one week after another child, a 10-year-old boy, was hit and injured by a car a few blocks away at Lee Avenue and Division Avenue.
Several elected officials, including Mayor Zohran Mamdani, posted messages on social media offering condolences and prayers to the family.
Community sources who reviewed video footage of the crash say the bus did not appear to be speeding. They say the child ran into the road seconds before impact.
A highway patrol investigation found the driver did not stop and returned to the scene when onlookers flagged him down to stop.
Community sources say the child was buried in a private ceremony in New Jersey.
“This is just a tragedy. I have no words,” Restler said at the scene. “I’m heartbroken for the family, for this whole community in Williamsburg.”
As of Friday evening, no charges have been announced. The investigation remains ongoing.
