Child fatally struck by van advertising candy in Brooklyn, NYPD says

A child was fatally hit by a van in Bath Beach, Brooklyn on Thursday, police said. Photo Credit: Ashley Simone McKenzie

The driver of a van that hit and killed a 3-year-old boy in Bath Beach, Brooklyn Thursday afternoon is facing charges, police said.

Emur Shavkator was ahead of his mother on a scooter traveling into the crosswalk on Benson Avenue at Bay 25th Street when the van hit him around 12:45 p.m., according to police. The Chevy van, which had advertisements for Skittles on one side and Starburst on the other, was making a right turn from Bay 25th Street onto Benson Avenue when it struck the boy, cops said.

Emur was taken to NYC Health + Hospitals/Coney Island with head trauma and pronounced dead upon arrival, police said. He lived just blocks from where he was hit, according to police.

The scooter he was riding was not electric, cops added.

The driver of the van remained at the scene, police said. Photo Credit: Todd Maisel

The van’s driver, Johnny Gonzalez, 61, remained on the scene. He was charged with failure to yield to a pedestrian and failure to exercise due care, police said.

City Councilman Mark Treyger represents the area and said he was "heartbroken" over the deadly crash.

"This is an unspeakable tragedy, and my thoughts are with this family and all those who know and love them," he said in a statement Thursday. "There are far too many families in this community and citywide who have lost loved ones — kids at play, beloved grandparents, neighbors, co-workers — to traffic violence."

Treyger said he’s been calling for traffic calming measures at the intersection for years.

"We are still waiting for further details from the precinct, but we have known for years that drivers regularly disregard this stop sign," he said. "There is a moral urgency to street safety improvements that, regrettably, does not seem to be captured in the data points collected during traffic studies."