A worker directing traffic at a Brooklyn construction site was fatally struck by a van driver who was arrested for criminally negligent homicide for the reckless crash, police said Wednesday.

The driver was behind the wheel of an Enterprise rental van zipping east on Myrtle Ave. in Bedford-Stuyvesant when he tried to get around a slow moving box truck heading in the same direction about 2 p.m. Tuesday, cops said.

As he tried to skirt around the left side of the box truck near Walworth St., the van went into oncoming traffic next to a construction zone, sideswiping the box truck, cops said.

The NYPD Highway Patrol investigates after a construction worker was struck and killed by a vehicle on Myrtle Ave. and Walworth St. in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024. (Gardiner Anderson for New York Daily News)
NYPD Highway Patrol cops investigates after a construction worker was fatally struck by a van driver on Myrtle Ave. and Walworth St. in Bedford-Stuyvesant Tuesday. (Gardiner Anderson for New York Daily News)

The driver then slammed into 37-year-old Luis Mario Sangurima, a construction flagger wearing a reflective yellow vest who was directing drivers down a narrow lane past the construction site, surveillance video of the crash seen by the Daily News shows.

Work crews had taken over a portion of the street as they worked on the property.

The van slammed into an oncoming Honda Odyssey after plowing into Sangurima, cops said.

Medics rushed Sangurima to Woodhull Hospital but he couldn’t be saved. He lived in Newark, according to cops.

The NYPD Highway Patrol investigates after a construction worker was struck and killed by a vehicle on Myrtle Ave. and Walworth St. in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024. (Gardiner Anderson for New York Daily News)
NYPD Highway Patrol cops investigates after a construction worker was fatally struck by a van driver on Myrtle Ave. and Walworth St. in Bedford-Stuyvesant Tuesday. (Gardiner Anderson for New York Daily News)

Driver Clyde Mercury, 36, was arrested at the scene and charged with criminally negligent homicide, reckless endangerment, reckless driving and failure to exercise due care. He lives in Crown Heights, according to cops.

Mercury’s arraignment in Brooklyn Criminal Court was pending Wednesday.

Originally Published: October 30, 2024 at 11:41 AM EDT

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Posts


This will close in 0 seconds