School Bus Driver Charged After Girl Killed in Bath Beach
Quiet
A driver in a bus making a right turn at 23rd Avenue and Bath Avenue hit 11-year-old Amira Aminova, who the city record says was crossing with the signal, and police later charged Wawa Aurelus.
Location reported in Open Data.
What We Know
On Feb. 5, 2026, a driver in a school bus made a right turn at 23rd Avenue and Bath Avenue in Brooklyn and hit 11-year-old Amira Aminova as she crossed. The city crash record lists failure to yield right-of-way and says the girl was crossing with the signal. Police and news accounts said the driver did not remain at the scene; later reports identified him as 62-year-old Wawa Aurelus and said police charged him with failure to yield to a pedestrian and failure to exercise due care. Accounts differed on how soon police stopped him and whether he knew what had happened, and CBS reported he was not charged with leaving the scene.
A right turn at an afternoon crossing
The crash was recorded at 3:05 p.m. on Feb. 5, 2026, at 23 Avenue and Bath Avenue in Brooklyn. The city record says a driver in a bus was making a right turn and lists one pedestrian killed, an 11-year-old girl who was at the intersection and crossing with the signal.
Press accounts citing police identified the girl as Amira Aminova and said she was taken to Maimonides Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.
Bath Beach corner busy with students and families
The crash happened at 23rd Avenue and Bath Avenue in Bath Beach. ABC7 reported that it was just after school dismissal, and Brooklyn Paper reported that the area typically has heavy foot traffic from students and families at that time of day.
CBS New York and Gothamist reported that Amira was only steps from home when she was hit.
Records and reports describe a right-turning school bus
City records list a 2018 bus making a right turn, with one occupant, and note the right front bumper as the point of impact. Several press accounts citing police described a 2018 Blue Bird school bus traveling south on 23rd Avenue and turning right onto Bath Avenue; the city vehicle record lists westbound travel. The consistent detail is a right turn at the intersection.
Failure to yield is central in the record and charges
The city crash record lists failure to yield right-of-way as a contributing factor for the bus. Police later charged Wawa Aurelus with failure to yield to a pedestrian and failure to exercise due care.
Police and news accounts consistently said the driver did not remain at the scene. Accounts differed on what happened next: ABC7 said police located him hours later several miles away, while the Daily News said police stopped him minutes later a short distance away. CBS reported that police said he was not aware of the crash and was not charged with leaving the scene.
Amira Aminova was remembered in the neighborhood
News outlets identified the girl who died as 11-year-old Amira Aminova of Brooklyn. Workers at a corner deli told reporters she had just bought chocolate and a soda before the crash.
A deli worker told ABC7, “Every day. Every day she comes. She's my good customer. Quiet.” CBS reported that neighbors brought a teddy bear, candles and her favorite candy to the intersection.
A vigil turned grief toward street-safety demands
One week later, Brooklyn residents, elected officials and advocates held a vigil for Amira and called for stronger traffic-safety measures. Council Member Susan Zhuang said, “There is no need to wait until another child is killed to find a solution to make our streets safer.”