Cops on Wednesday arrested a 53-year-old man who they believe ran a red light and struck a 6-year-old boy walking with his father in a Brooklyn crosswalk last month. Police said that the minivan involved in the crash had TLC plates. The commission said Wednesday that while the vehicle was licensed by the TLC, the man who has been arrested is not a licensed TLC driver, and had been summonsed for "unlicensed activity" three times in the past
"That's why we're so stringent about bases checking the license status of drivers who want to work with them," TLC spokesman Allan Fromberg said Wednesday.
The driver, Armando Mino of Brooklyn, has yet to be arraigned. Police charged him preliminarily with assault and leaving the scene.
Police responded to the northwest corner of 41st Street and Fort Hamilton Parkway in Borough Park shortly after 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, August 24th, according to a spokesman for the department.
Surveillance video acquired by NBC shows the driver striking the child moments after he and his father step off of the curb. The father then picks up the child and rushes to the far side of the street. Afterwards, the driver exits his Toyota Sienna and walks around the exterior, apparently checking for damage, before driving away.
A police spokesman said at the time that the boy's 41-year-old father filed a complaint, corroborated with witness accounts. "Preliminarily, this minivan may have gone through a steady red light," the spokesman added.
The boy was transported to Maimonides Medical Center in stable condition, with an injured hip.
According to the surveillance video, the boy and his father were not immediately next to the vehicle when the driver exited to inspect it. The footage does not capture any interaction between suspect and victim.
