Hit-and-run driver kills 4-year-old at Rockaway Parkway
A driver in a Ford SUV killed 4-year-old Zachariah Padilla and injured another pedestrian on Rockaway Parkway just after 11 AM, then did not remain at the scene, police and official crash records say.
What We Know
City crash data places the crash on Rockaway Parkway at 11:05 a.m. and records a 4-year-old male pedestrian killed and one pedestrian injured after a Ford SUV driver traveling north and going straight made left-front contact. News reports identified the child as Zachariah Padilla and said he had just left urgent care with his mother, Harmonie Wright, near Brookdale University Hospital when he ran into the street or crosswalk. Police and witnesses told outlets the driver in a white Ford SUV did not remain at the scene; several accounts said the child was taken or carried into Brookdale and pronounced dead. Reports disagree on some geography and movement details: the city record places the crash on Rockaway Parkway, while articles describe the area around Linden Boulevard and differ on whether the driver was on Rockaway Parkway or Linden Boulevard.
A child was hit outside Brookdale
City crash data records a fatal pedestrian crash on Rockaway Parkway at 11:05 a.m. on March 5, 2026. The record lists a 4-year-old male pedestrian killed, one pedestrian injured and a Ford SUV driver traveling north and going straight before left-front contact was recorded.
News reports identified the child as Zachariah Padilla. Police and witnesses told outlets he had just left urgent care with his mother, Harmonie Wright, near Brookdale University Hospital when he broke away or ran into the street. The driver in a white Ford SUV did not remain at the scene, according to police.
Several accounts said Wright carried or rushed her son into Brookdale, where he was pronounced dead. ABC7 reported Wright said the driver dragged her son about 150 feet; the Daily News quoted a taxi driver who said he saw the child on the ground before Wright picked him up.
Rockaway Parkway, Linden Boulevard and a hospital entrance
The city crash record places the crash on Rockaway Parkway. News outlets described the location as at or near Rockaway Parkway and Linden Boulevard, outside or adjacent to Brookdale University Hospital; some reports called the area Brownsville, while others called it East Flatbush.
The location was already known for danger. ABC7 reported that city statistics showed at least 30 pedestrians had been hit by drivers there in the prior four years. Streetsblog, citing Crash Count mapping, reported 368 crashes within a three-block radius since January 2022, injuring 215 people, including 29 pedestrians and 11 cyclists.
Zachariah Padilla and Harmonie Wright
Police identified the child as Zachariah Padilla, an area resident, according to amNY and other reports. City data records him as a 4-year-old pedestrian who was killed.
Wright told ABC7 her son had been splashing in puddles after the family left urgent care. She described picking him up and rushing him inside the hospital, and told CBS New York, "I want justice for my child."
Reports diverged on whether Wright was injured. CBS New York reported police said his mother was not injured, while Wright later told ABC7 and News 12 that she was also hit.
Police searched for the driver
Police said the driver did not stop after the crash. Multiple reports said investigators were searching for a white Ford SUV driver, and CBS New York reported detectives had security video but had not made it public. No arrests had been reported in the reviewed coverage.
The Daily News reported that officials had not determined whether the driver realized someone had been hit. Other reports described the case as a hit-and-run and said police asked anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers.
Investigators described the crossing, while advocates pointed to speed
The city pedestrian record describes the child as crossing in a marked crosswalk without a signal and not at an intersection. News 12 reported that investigators said the driver had a green light while the child was crossing.
After the crash, Transportation Alternatives called on city officials to lower the Rockaway Parkway corridor speed limit from 25 mph to 20 mph under Sammy's Law. The group said a speed camera at Rockaway Parkway and Linden Boulevard caught 3,600 people speeding the prior year, nearly 10 drivers a day.
Some movement details conflict across reports
The city vehicle record lists the Ford SUV driver traveling north on Rockaway Parkway. News reports agreed on a white Ford SUV, but they differed on street and direction details: some said the driver was last seen northbound on Rockaway Parkway, while others said the driver was traveling on Linden Boulevard. The Daily News said witnesses told police the child was running east across the parkway.