Bed-Stuy block chases down fatal hit-and-run driver

A Bedford-Stuyvesant block is mourning a beloved neighbor who was mowed down Saturday by an alleged drunken driver. "He did anything he could for everybody," said Aisha Pearson, Floyd Hooper's daughter.

News 12 Staff

Jun 1, 2008, 9:59 PM

Updated 6,038 days ago

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A Bedford-Stuyvesant block is mourning a beloved neighbor who was mowed down Saturday by an alleged drunken driver.
"He did anything he could for everybody," said Aisha Pearson, Floyd Hooper's daughter. "He was a fixture on this block. I don't even want to be on this block because he's not here anymore."
Hooper was repairing a double-parked vehicle on Patchen Avenue across from his mechanic shop when a driver ran into him around 9:29 p.m. According to witnesses, the 52-year-old victim was thrown 20 feet and the driver fled. Neighbors then chased that car.
Police said the 38-year-old driver struck another vehicle three blocks away before being arrested. She's charged with vehicular assault, DWI and operating a vehicle without a license.
"We had to protect her because the community found out she hit Floyd so they were trying to attack her," said the Rev. George Williams, who was Hooper's friend. "There isn't a car in this neighborhood he hasn't worked on. There isn't a family in this neighborhood he hasn't helped in some way."
Hooper was taken to Kings County Hospital, where he later died.