Mitchell Maldonado was arrested after a fatal Coney Island hit-and-run.
The Oldest of Eight
Police arrested Mitchell Maldonado after the March 3, 2023, hit-and-run recorded at 8:49 p.m. at Mermaid Avenue and West 24th Street, in which Tamika Richards was killed and another pedestrian injured.
Location reported in Open Data.
What We Know
Police identified Mitchell Maldonado as the driver in a hit-and-run involving a red pickup at Mermaid Avenue and West 24th Street in Coney Island. The official record counts one pedestrian killed and one injured; reports identified the woman as Tamika Richards, 41, and the injured 18-year-old as her son, Rayquan Parker. A family friend told the Daily News that Parker recalled Richards moving in front of him and calling for the driver to stop. Reports differ on which street they were crossing: the Daily News said Mermaid Avenue, while ABC7's initial report said West 24th Street. In November 2024, the Daily News reported Maldonado's arrest on charges including leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death and failure to yield to a pedestrian.
One crash, differing accounts of the crossing
The official record places the crash at Mermaid Avenue and West 24th Street in Brooklyn at 8:49 p.m. on March 3, 2023, and counts one person killed and one injured.
Police accounts described the two pedestrians being struck by the driver of a red pickup, who continued west on Mermaid Avenue. Reports differ on which street Richards and the 18-year-old were crossing: the Daily News said Mermaid Avenue, while ABC7's initial report said West 24th Street.
The pickup and its reported route
The official crash record lists a 2016 Chevrolet pickup traveling west and going straight. Police-based reports described the involved vehicle as a red pickup; reports said its driver continued west on Mermaid Avenue after striking the pedestrians.
The record and a family account
The official crash record lists driver inattention or distraction as a contributing factor. Separately, family friend Zemaya Williams told the Daily News that Parker recalled the driver going through a red light.
A mother and son
Tamika Richards, 41, was a mother of six, a grandmother to a six-month-old grandson and the oldest of eight siblings, the Amsterdam News reported.
Richards and her 18-year-old son, Rayquan Parker, were a few blocks from home on an errand to buy drinks before a visit from her brother, the Daily News reported. Williams told the paper that Parker recalled his mother positioning herself in front of him and calling for the driver to stop.
Parker was a senior at John Dewey High School at the time. The Daily News reported that he suffered serious pelvic injuries, underwent surgery and began rehabilitation.
An arrest in 2024
On November 29, 2024, the Daily News reported police had arrested Mitchell Maldonado, 33, of Burlington, Vermont. The newspaper said he faced charges including leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death and failure to yield to a pedestrian.
Richards' oldest son, Mart, told the Daily News he had just learned of the arrest and said, "I don't know what to say."
Where
MERMAID AVENUE and WEST 24 STREET