The busy five-way Williamsburg intersection where a 9-year-old boy was killed by the driver of a school bus Friday morning lacked crosswalk markings at the time of the tragedy, prompting one city councilmember to make an urgent call for safety improvements.
The bustling junction of Lee Avenue, Lorimer Street and Wallabout Street underwent recent roadwork but crosswalk markings haven’t yet been painted, Councilmember Lincoln Restler said. In the hours after the crash, people hustled their way across the street without them, to a yeshiva and the apartments and businesses surrounding the intersection. Cars and dozens of buses clogged the intersection, laying on their horns.
Police said that around 8:15 a.m. Friday, a 49-year-old school bus driver was making a left turn from Lee Avenue onto Lorimer Street when the bus struck the child. The driver initially left the scene, police said, but returned after being told what happened. The NYPD said the child was taken to Woodhull Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Restler called on the city Department of Transportation to expedite plans for new crosswalk markings. He said he was also asking the city to analyze signal timing to potentially give pedestrians more time to cross. He said transportation should consider daylighting — barring parking spaces close to the intersection — to improve visibility.
“No community should have to endure a tragedy like this,” Restler said in a statement.
Restler said he was also asking the NYPD to station a crossing guard at the site. Later Friday morning, after the crash, one was present and guiding children and adults through the commotion.
Baruch Herzfeld, who runs a bike clubhouse in the area, described it as a “one of the most crowded places for children in New York City,” as children come home from school and people get ready for the Jewish Sabbath. Herzfeld said he considers the “dozens of school buses passing through the intersection like every hour here” an unnecessary hazard. The B48 bus also stops on both sides of Lee Avenue at the intersection.
The city recently installed a new pedestrian island in the middle of the intersection, Williamsburg 365 reported last month. The report described the island as a place where pedestrians could pause “instead of having to make the entire crossing in one stretch.”
A police spokesperson said they were still gathering information and did not yet know whether the bus was from a private or public school.
The transportation department didn’t immediately respond to messages seeking comment Friday. Data collected by NYC Crash Mapper reflects at least eight crashes at the intersection since 2020, with five injuries but no fatalities.
Six children have been killed in traffic on city streets this year, according to the advocacy group Transportation Alternatives.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani said on social media he was “devastated by the loss of a 9-year-old boy struck this morning while crossing the street in Williamsburg,” and expressed sympathy for the boy’s family.
“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,” he said.
Police said no arrests have been made and they are waiting to notify the boy’s family before releasing his identity. The NYPD’s Collision Investigation Squad is investigating the incident.