Driver charged after fatal East Village hit-and-run
A pedestrian died at Cooper Square and Saint Marks Place on Nov. 27, 2022, and police later charged Michael Pruitt in what the Daily News described as a fatal East Village hit-and-run.
What We Know
The city crash record places the collision at Cooper Square and Saint Marks Place at 5:48 a.m. and records one pedestrian death after a northbound sedan driver was going straight ahead. It lists driver inattention or distraction and unsafe speed for the driver, and records the driver as unlicensed. News accounts identified the location as Third Avenue and St. Mark's Place and reported that Lucas Jimenez Aburto or Jimenez-Aburto was crossing against the signal when a northbound driver with the light hit him at high speed and left. The Daily News later reported that police arrested Michael Pruitt and charged him with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death. The official record lists the pedestrian as 53; both articles reported he was 55.
Early-morning collision in the East Village
The city record says the crash happened at 5:48 a.m. on Nov. 27, 2022, at Cooper Square and Saint Marks Place in Manhattan and records one pedestrian death.
amNewYork reported that police found Lucas Jimenez-Aburto unconscious and unresponsive in the roadway and that he was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The article said police reported he was crossing Third Avenue against the signal when a northbound motorist with a green light hit him at high speed and fled.
The Daily News later reported, citing police, that Michael Pruitt hit Lucas Jimenez Aburto around 5:50 a.m. as Jimenez Aburto crossed against the light after leaving work nearby.
A Cooper Square corridor with repeated harm
CrashCountNYC's location context for Cooper Square in Manhattan records 61 crashes, 36 injuries, four serious injuries and two deaths from 2022 through June 1, 2026.
Sources disagree on Lucas Jimenez Aburto's age
The official record identifies the person killed as a 53-year-old male pedestrian. amNewYork identified him as Lucas Jimenez-Aburto of East Midtown, while the Daily News used Lucas Jimenez Aburto and reported that he was a Mexican immigrant, a father to 12 children, and had been leaving a shift at Ray's Pizza & Bagel Café. Both articles reported his age as 55.
Police later made an arrest
The Daily News reported that Michael Pruitt, 37, of Canarsie, was arrested on Sept. 24, 2023, and charged with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death. The paper reported that his arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court was pending that night.