East Village man killed by MTA bus that kept driving after he tripped into street, family blames construction
An East Village man died Friday night after he tripped into an intersection near his house and was crushed by a city bus — and the driver allegedly just kept going, the NYPD said Sunday.
Shawn Gooding, 45, was walking near the intersection of Avenue D and East 10th Street at about 10:40 p.m. when he tumbled into the road near the crosswalk, police said.
Just as he fell into the street, a Metropolitan Transit Authority bus operated by an unidentified 59-year-old driver was turning south onto Avenue D, cops said.
The back of the accordion bus struck Gooding, whose battered body remained in the road while the bus drove away.
EMS workers rushed him to NYC Health + Hospital Bellevue, but he didn’t make it, cops said.
Police have not charged the driver — and the NYPD said it’s still unclear if he actually knew he collided with Gooding.
On Sunday, the MTA president issued a statement saying the driver likely didn’t realize what happened.
“There is no indication that the bus operator was aware of any impact,” agency head Richard Davey said. “Nevertheless, this was a tragic incident, regardless of the circumstances, and our hearts go out to the victim’s family and friends at this terrible moment.”
Wadeeah Sabir, Gooding’s younger sister, blamed a lengthy construction project strangling the intersection for her brother’s death.
“The construction has been there for about a year, messing up traffic and making it very dangerous for people there,” Sabir, 35, told The Post on Sunday. “People have to walk in the street because they’re afraid of walking in the little construction scenes that are taking up the sidewalk.”
The already-constricted lanes become even tighter if two buses are passing each other, she added.
“Unfortunately it had to come to my brother losing his life before anyone could notice the danger of having two buses turning in that little spot,” Sabir said.
Gooding was a devoted uncle to her sister’s kids, Sabir said. And he always carried bags for neighborhood women looking for a hand.
“It figures he’d be the one,” she said. “Our parents are both gone, we were a family of three sisters and one brother. He was the only man we had! And now he’s gone.”
The family is waiting for Gooding’s blood to wash away before they set up a memorial on the corner.
“There’s still a little blood there, but we’re going to go light candles for him tonight,” she said.
Other neighbors reiterated how hazardous the clogged intersection can be.
“This is too dangerous,” June Kim, a 31-year-old mom, told The Post as she walked with a stroller through the intersection.
“One sidewalk is completely covered all the way, and the other one is usually blocked with construction and cones,” she said. “It wouldn’t be that bad, but there are always those double buses passing each other right here so you kind of have to wait a little while.”
The department’s highway investigations squad is still looking into the accident, cops said.
