Wanted: Robert Decarlo, Gravesend Man Suspected Of Hit-And-Run That Killed A Child, Injured Two Others

Police are searching for Robert Decarlo, a 26-year-old Gravesend resident suspected of being the driver in a hit-and-run yesterday on Flatlands Avenue that left a 12-year-old girl dead and her mother and 9-year-old sister in critical condition.

The New York Times reports:

Detectives are searching for Robert Decarlo, 26, whom they described as 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighing 170 pounds, with brown eyes and short black hair. His last known address was at 114 Avenue U in Gravesend, Brooklyn, a few miles from where the crash occurred Wednesday, on Flatlands Avenue and East 46th Street.

Around 4:40 p.m., a stolen 2005 Dodge Caravan minivan that was speeding westbound on Flatlands Avenue jumped the sidewalk on the north side of the street, the police said. The vehicle plowed into the mother and her daughters, and the driver fled on foot, the police said

The minivan was reported stolen from Tommy’s Auto Repair at 2029 McDonald Avenue last week.

ABC News has more details on the accident:

Police say the victims were walking on the sidewalk when the stolen 2005 Dodge Caravan jumped the curb and mowed them down. The driver, believed to be DeCarlo, fled on food.

“He lost control, he turn two times, boom boom, and then he go on top of the kids,” an eyewitness said. “We saw the two girls laying there bleeding, and like yo let’s move the car, there might be a third.”

“Me and a couple of other guys pushed the car up onto the hydrant,” another witness said.

Under the car, they found Joey Sellers.

“Her eyes were open and she wasn’t moving at all,” Shamar Brooks said. “She wasn’t blinking.”

DeCarlo has prior arrests for robbery and drug possession, and is currently out on bail for the March 21 assault and mugging of a 65-year-old woman in Brighton Beach. Cops say he kicked and punched her multiple times before fleeing with her purse.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS (8477). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website, or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.