School bus driver charged after 11-year-old killed in Bath Beach
At about 3:05 p.m. on Feb. 5, 2026, school bus driver Wawa Aurelus made a right turn at 23rd and Bath avenues in Brooklyn and hit 11-year-old Amira Aminova as she crossed with the signal, and police later charged him with failure to yield and failure to exercise due care.
What We Know
Amira Aminova, 11, was crossing at Bath Avenue and 23rd Avenue after school on Feb. 5 when school bus driver Wawa Aurelus made a right turn and hit her, according to police accounts reported by CBS and the Post. The city crash record places the collision at 3:05 p.m. and says the pedestrian was at the intersection crossing with the signal. It lists failure to yield as a contributing factor for the bus driver. Amira was taken to Maimonides Medical Center and pronounced dead. Police charged Aurelus with failure to yield to a pedestrian and failure to exercise due care; CBS reported that police said he was not aware he had hit someone and was not charged with leaving the scene. ABC7 and the Post described the case as a hit-and-run, while reports differed on how soon police found or stopped him.
Official Crash Data
Collision ID
4876845
Date
February 5, 2026
Time
3:05 p.m.
Location
23rd Ave & Bath Ave, Brooklyn
Borough
BROOKLYN
Fatalities
1
Pedestrians killed
1
Vehicles listed
Bus
Contributing factors listed
Failure to Yield Right-of-Way, Driver Inexperience
A right turn as Amira crossed with the signal
The city crash record puts the fatal crash at 3:05 p.m. on Feb. 5, 2026, at 23rd Avenue and Bath Avenue in Brooklyn. It records one person killed: an 11-year-old girl, a pedestrian at the intersection who was crossing with the signal.
Police accounts reported by CBS and the Post identified her as Amira Aminova and said the school bus driver turned right and hit her in the crosswalk. ABC7 reported it happened just after school dismissal and that video showed her at the corner with the right of way before she crossed.
Bath Avenue had a recent crash history before this death
The crash happened at 23rd Avenue and Bath Avenue in Brooklyn, on the Bath Avenue corridor tracked by CrashCountNYC.
Crash Finder counted 260 crashes, 140 injuries, six serious injuries and two deaths on Bath Avenue in Brooklyn from Jan. 1, 2022, through June 1, 2026.
An 11-year-old neighbor was steps from home
CBS reported Amira was just steps from home when the driver hit her. Neighbors left a teddy bear, candles and her favorite candy at the intersection; one neighbor described her as a smiling, happy child.
ABC7 quoted a deli worker who said Amira had bought chocolate and a soda moments before the crash and came in every day.
Records and reports describe the school bus differently
The official vehicle record describes a 2018 bus making a right turn and lists failure to yield right-of-way for its driver. It lists the bus's travel direction as west; the Post reported, citing police and sources, that the driver had been traveling south on 23rd Avenue before attempting a right turn onto Bath Avenue.
The official record lists one occupant in the bus. The Post reported the bus had students aboard.
Failure-to-yield charges, but no leaving-the-scene charge
ABC7 reported police located the driver hours later several miles away in Brooklyn; the Post reported police pulled him over shortly later; CBS reported he was later pulled over and questioned. ABC7 and the Post described the case as a hit-and-run, while CBS reported police did not charge him with leaving the scene.
New York City Public Schools said its hearts went out to the family and community and said it was ensuring the school community was supported as classmates mourned.