Sunset Park Neighbor Killed In Hit & Run in Bensonhurst
BENSONHURST – Cops from the 62 Precinct are looking for a driver who struck a pedestrian and left the scene in a hit and run on Sunday, February 23, around 7:30 am near 19th Avenue and 86th Street.
Upon arrival, officers encountered an unconscious 26-year-old Jose Contla laying on the sidewalk with severe trauma to the body.
Police determined that the operator of a black sedan traveling southbound on 19th Ave struck the pedestrian as he was walking alongside his vehicle. The impact then sent him some 50 feet down a sidewalk and into a driveway, NYDN reports, adding that Contla had just parked his car on his way to work at a bakery around the corner.
Witness Suleam Zafer said “my car shook when the driver drove by before striking the man. The victim went flying in the air. He was laying on the ground unconscious and not breathing, half-naked. First responders attempted to do CPR. ”
However, Contla, who lived on 61st Street near 2nd Avenue, died from the injuries at Maimonides Medical Center. As of end of January, 6 pedestrians have been killed in Brooklyn this year, and this is the first pedestrian death for this location in a decade. Seven additional pedestrians have been injured at the intersection of 19th Avenue and 86th Street since 2015, based on VisionZero data.
The black sedan continued southbound on 19th Avenue.
Cops are looking for this car:
The investigation is ongoing by the New York City Police Department’s Highway Patrol Collision Investigation Squad.
Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM, on Twitter @NYPDTips.