A Staten Island man, Juventino Anastacio-Florentino, is set to face arraignment on Saturday after being accused of a hit-and-run incident that left two pedestrians dead in Brooklyn. The crash occurred around 4:30 a.m. yesterday at the intersection of 3rd Avenue and 52nd Street in Sunset Park, where Anastacio-Florentino allegedly drove a BMW 328i through a red light and fatally struck the two victims, Kex Un Chen, 80, and Faqiu Lin, 59, who were pronounced dead at the scene, as reported by Gothamist.
Anastacio-Florentino, 23, is reported to have fled the scene but was later arrested at his home on Staten Island. Charges leveled against him include manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death, among others. Surveillance video featuring a BMW speeding and later pieces of the car found near the suspect's home were key to tracking him down and managing to bring him into custody.
The victims were near a food pantry when the incident occurred, with one of them, according to surveillance video, seen pulling a grocery cart and the other using a cane. "We are deeply saddened by the tragic deaths of two individuals in Sunset Park this morning. Our thoughts are with their families and loved ones," said City Harvest, in a statement obtained by ABC7 New York. "We understand they may have been on their way to our Mobile Market simply trying to access food like so many New Yorkers in need."
Local residents expressed their distress, with one Sunset Park resident, Mike Gonzalez, saying, "I pass through here almost every morning. I pass through there and I see them all lined up and on the other side of the street too. The line is really long. So, they get there early so they can get their stuff early," as shared in an interview by ABC7 New York. The arraignment of Anastacio-Florentino will take place in Brooklyn criminal court, where communities affected by the tragedy hope to see justice begin to be served.
The NYPD has recorded at least 98 traffic-related fatalities across the city this year, a decrease from 135 at the same time last year, with approximately half involving pedestrians, highlighted by the Gothamist. Yet, each number represents an individual, a life cut short, folk whose stories end abruptly at the hands of such devastating incidents.
