4 year old pedestrian seriously injured by hit-and-run moped driver in Queens, NYC

A hit-and-run moped driver crashed into a 4 year old pedestrian and seriously injured him last Sunday in New York City. The accident occurred in the Flushing Meadows-Corona Park near the Boathouse at the end of the afternoon. 4 year old Jonathan Beauchamp was hanging in the park with his parents and other children and relatives when  dirt bike and moped riders showed up and started to do donuts.  A mope rider struck 4 year old Jonathan and fled away. The boy was rushed to the emergency room by his dad and was diagnosed with acute head trauma. He remains in critical but stable condition. The police are still looking for the moped driver.

Hit-and-run drivers get away with murder all the time in NYC

In New York City, very few hit-and-run drivers are being found by the police and even in cases resulting in serious injury, many of the hit-and-run drivers face no consequences. Less than a quarter  of hit-and-run drivers involved in accidents resulting in death or serious injuries are indeed arrested.  47 people were critically injured or died in hit-and-run accidents in New York City during the first six months of 2021 and only 11 arrests were made which represent 23% of all the serious cases.  While looking at all hit-and run accidents including those that only result in property damage only 1% of the hit and run drivers are being arrested in New York City.

The reason why these numbers are so bad is that the police do not consider hit-and-run accidents a priority and do not want to spend time and money on these cases. The NYPD has 22 officers and 4 sergeants assigned to the crash unit. Last year they investigated 374 crashes which is nothing compared to the number of car accidents occurring in the city in an entire year. Just last May, 4,927 people were injured in NYC crashes. A law was signed in 2015 allowing the police to fine hit-and-run drivers with a fine of up to $15,000 but so far only 7 drivers have been hit with such a fine.

Read more in the NY Daily News