The younger sister of a man who was fatally mowed down by a New York City bus is blaming a drawn-out construction project near the crash site for her brother’s death, and police say no one has been charged.
Shawn Gooding, a 45-year-old man, tripped and fell into the street near a marked crosswalk on March 1 around 10:40 p.m., the New York Police Department said in a statement to Atlanta Black Star.
The incident happened at the intersection of Avenue D and East 10th St. in Alphabet City, a section of the East Village in Manhattan.
Officers responded to the scene to find Gooding lying on the roadway “with trauma about the body,” according to the statement. He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
A police investigation revealed that Gooding was struck by a Metropolitan Transit Authority bus driven by an unidentified 59-year-old employee.
The driver was traveling eastbound on East 10th St. during a green light and making a right turn onto southbound Avenue D when the collision occurred.
“The rear of the bus struck the pedestrian. The vehicle did not remain at the scene,” NYPD said.
The New York Post reported that, according to the NYPD, the driver may have been unaware that he had hit Gooding.
The MTA president, Richard Davey, also said in a statement, “There is no indication that the bus operator was aware of any impact.”
Davey said, “Nevertheless, this was a tragic incident, regardless of the circumstances, and our hearts go out to the victim’s family and friends at this terrible moment.”
Police are still investigating the incident. Meanwhile, Wadeeah Sabir, Gooding’s 35-year-old sister, told the New York Post that she blames the tragic accident on a lengthy construction project going on for about a year at that intersection.
She said the ongoing project has disrupted traffic and posed dangers for pedestrians.
“People have to walk in the street because they’re afraid of walking in the little construction scenes that are taking up the sidewalk,” Sabir told The New York Post.
She told the outlet that the already constricted lanes in that area become even more difficult to maneuver when two buses pass each other.
“Unfortunately, it had to come to my brother losing his life before anyone could notice the danger of having two buses turning in that little spot,” Sabir told the New York Post.
The grieving sister remembered her big brother as a devoted uncle to their sister’s children and someone who always helped neighborhood women with carrying their bags, according to the New York Post.
“He was the only man we had, and now he’s gone,” Sabir said.
