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Hit & Run Driver Backs Into Kennedy's Chicken Restaurant, Killing 7-Year-Old
By
John Del Signore
Published Jun 5, 2015
Modified Jun 5, 2015
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By
John Del Signore
Published Jun 5, 2015
Modified Jun 5, 2015
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A 73-year-old man backed a Mercedes SUV into a Kennedy's Chicken in the Bronx last night, killing a 7-year-old boy and injuring his father and sister. The victim, Ethan Villavicencio, was pronounced dead at Jacobi Hospital. The child's father, who sustained lacerations to his head, and his 5-year-old sister, whose arms were injured, are both in stable condition.
Witnesses say the driver, Kwasi Oduro, tried to flee the scene after backing into the restaurant, located in the Pelham Bay section of the Bronx , around 5:30 p.m. “The SUV was trying to get away and a guy grabbed the door handle and actually opened the car door," one bystander tells the Daily News. "He tried to pull the driver out but he stepped on the gas and pulled away."
(David Torres)
But witnesses chased Oduro on foot and managed to flag down a pair of Traffic Enforcement Agents who were stopped at a red light nearby. The TEA cops pulled Oduro over and took him into custody; he was subsequently charged with multiple counts of Leaving the Scene of an Accident.
Ali Ibrahim, a worker at the restaurant, tells the NY Times he had just served Ethan ice cream moments before the fatal crash. The boy was enjoying the ice cream at a booth in front of the windows with his father and sister when Oduro plowed into the restaurant. "It was like an explosion," Ibrahim said. The SUV pinned the boy against exposed drywall.
(David Torres)
Ethan Villavicencio’s aunt, Taisha Alameda, tells the News, "When he was in the ambulance, his mother said, ‘Everything will be OK,’ and he said, ‘OK, mommy. I’ll be here waiting for you.' Everywhere he went, he danced. He gave life to everyone."
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John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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