Driver charged after Coney Island hit-and-run killed Tamika Richards
The city crash record says a pickup driver hit a 41-year-old woman crossing with the signal at Mermaid Avenue and West 24th Street; the Daily News later reported police arrested Mitchell Maldonado in the hit-and-run that killed Tamika Richards and injured her son.
What We Know
A westbound pickup driver hit two pedestrians in the crosswalk at Mermaid Avenue and West 24th Street in Brooklyn. According to the police report, both were crossing with the signal when the driver, recorded as distracted, struck them head-on. A 41-year-old woman died of internal injuries. An 18-year-old man sustained pelvic fractures. The crash happened on a rainy March evening and involved a large pickup truck.
A Friday-night crossing became a fatal hit-and-run
At about 8:49 p.m. on March 3, 2023, a driver in a pickup was going west and straight ahead on Mermaid Avenue when the driver hit Tamika Richards and an 18-year-old man at West 24th Street. The official record says Richards, a 41-year-old pedestrian, was crossing with the signal at the intersection.
Police told news outlets that the driver in a red pickup left westbound on Mermaid Avenue. Richards was taken to Coney Island Hospital, where officials pronounced her dead; the 18-year-old was taken to NYU Langone Hospital Brooklyn in stable condition.
Tamika Richards and Rayquan Parker
The Daily News reported that Richards was a mother of six and that the injured 18-year-old was her son, Rayquan Parker. Relatives and a family friend told the paper that Richards moved in front of Parker as the pickup came toward them.
In a later story, the Daily News reported that Parker was a senior at John Dewey High School at the time and suffered serious pelvic injuries that required surgery and rehabilitation.
What investigators and witnesses said about the driver
The city crash record lists driver inattention or distraction as a contributing factor for the pickup driver. The Daily News reported that Parker told loved ones he remembered a red light and heard his mother yell for the driver to stop, while police later charged Maldonado with failure to yield to a pedestrian.
Mermaid Avenue at West 24th Street
The crash happened at Mermaid Avenue and West 24th Street in Coney Island. The Daily News reported that Richards and Parker were a couple of blocks from their home when the driver hit them.
CrashCountNYC's street context for Mermaid Avenue in Brooklyn records 278 crashes, 140 injuries, 6 serious injuries and 1 death from Jan. 1, 2022, through June 1, 2026.