Teen Driver Charged After Fatal Brooklyn Sidewalk Crash.
Tough as Nails
A 17-year-old driver in a Tesla drove onto the sidewalk at Ocean Parkway and Avenue M in Brooklyn, killing 76-year-old pedestrian Milorad Rajacic and injuring a second man, police said; the official record dates the crash to 9:18 p.m. June 7, 2023.
Location reported in Open Data.
What We Know
Police said a 17-year-old driver in a Tesla was speeding when he drove onto the sidewalk at Ocean Parkway and Avenue M, killing 76-year-old Milorad Rajacic; another man was injured. The official record lists the crash at 9:18 p.m. on June 7, 2023. Accounts differ on timing and movement: the Daily News reported a turn around 9:20 p.m., the Post reported northbound travel around 10:20 p.m., and the official record lists straight-ahead travel. Police arrested the driver nearby, and reports said he was charged with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death. Rajacic's wife told the Daily News he had been walking home after maintenance work at a nearby building.
Reports differ on the time and turn.
Police told the Post the teen was speeding north on Ocean Parkway when he lost control and drove onto the sidewalk at Avenue M, hitting Rajacic. The Post said the driver then hit a traffic-signal pole, continued along the sidewalk, and hit a bench where a 24-year-old man was sitting and a parked motorcycle.
The Daily News reported that the driver lost control while making a turn around 9:20 p.m. The Post placed the crash around 10:20 p.m. and described northbound travel. The official record lists the crash at 9:18 p.m. on June 7, 2023, and the vehicle's pre-crash movement as straight ahead.
Family remembered Rajacic's work ethic.
Official records identify the person killed as a 76-year-old male pedestrian; news reports named him as Milorad Rajacic. His wife Emilia told the Daily News he had been walking home after maintenance work at a nearby building. She recalled, “I had just left him.” Their son Peter described Rajacic as “hard-working, tough as nails.”
The Post reported that Rajacic was taken to Maimonides Medical Center, where he died. The Post also reported that a 24-year-old man seated on a bench suffered minor leg injuries and was taken to the hospital in stable condition.
The record lists a Tesla and parked two-wheelers.
The official vehicle records list a 2021 Tesla sedan traveling north, along with a parked motorcycle and a parked e-bike. The Post reported that the driver hit a parked motorcycle.
Police reported speeding; the record lists two factors.
Police accounts in the Post, Daily News and CBS described the teen driving at speed or speeding. The official vehicle record lists driver inattention or distraction and unsafe speed as contributing factors for the Tesla.
Police arrested the driver nearby.
The Post reported that the driver got out of the Tesla and fled on foot before police arrested him nearby. The Post said he was charged with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death; CBS reported that he was being charged as a juvenile with that offense.
Where
OCEAN PARKWAY and AVENUE M