COURIER L 12 IFE, FEB. 26-MAR. 4, 2021
The scene of the hit-and-run. Photo by Lloyd Mitchell
Cops cuff driver in
fatal Bensonhurst
crash that killed child
BY MEAGHAN MCGOLDRICK & ROSE
ADAMS
The driver who fatally struck a
4-year-old boy and left another child in
critical condition after dropping them
off at a Bensonhurst school last month
has been arrested and charged, cops
said Feb. 18.
Police say the motorist — now identifi
ed as 76-year-old Yehiel Guzi — drove the
children to a yeshiva on 67th Street near
20th Avenue at around 9:18 am on Jan. 4,
and let them out of the blue van before hitting
the two children and driving away,
apparently without noticing the crash.
The man returned to the scene when
the yeshiva reached out, sources said.
“The driver claims he didn’t know a
child was killed,” area Councilmember
Mark Treyger told Brooklyn Paper following
the incident. “This just doesn’t
add up to me.”
First responders pronounced the
younger child dead at the scene, while
paramedics rushed the second 5-yearold
victim for treatment at Maimonides
Medical Center.
The children’s school, Yeshiva
K’Tana of Bensonhurst, is located
around the corner from PS 205 on 20th
Avenue. Neither street has a reduced
speed limit as part of a School Slow Zone,
according to Department of Transportation
records.
Guzi was arrested at around 8 am
on Feb. 16 within the confi nes of the
62nd Precinct, where the fatal crash occurred.
He has been charged with Criminally
Negligent Homicide, Leaving the
Scene of an Accident Resulting in Death,
and Acting in a Manner Injurious to a
Child Less Than 17 Years of Age.
The 4-year-old victim has since been
identifi ed as Yoshi Balaban, of Staten
Island. The other child’s name has not
been released.
Coney Island mom cuffed after baby
found dead in dumpster: Cops
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
The mother of an infant found dead
in a dumpster outside a Coney Island
apartment building on Feb. 17 was
booked on criminal charges on the
night of Feb. 18, police reported.
Jahmika Small, 27, of West 28th
Street, faces counts of reckless endangerment
and acting in a manner injurious
to a child. Additional charges
against her may be pending the results
of the ongoing investigation.
Cops said that Small allegedly contacted
police and claimed that she had
just given birth, but that she could not locate
her child. That prompted members
of the 60th Precinct to respond to the location
and conduct a search of the building,
which ended in negative results.
Sources said Small was taken into
custody on Feb. 17 and brought in for
further questioning.
After being unable to locate the
baby at the West 28th Street location,
the NYPD Emergency Services
Unit was brought in to help with the
canvass.
Members of the unit then made the
horrifi c discovery just before 5 pm, fi nding
the dead newborn, of an unknown
gender, inside a dumpster outside a
high-rise apartment building at 2925
West 27th St. The location is about a
block away from where Small resides.
The cause of death was not disclosed
by police.