Boy, 8, in deadly van hit
A MINIVAN driver cried in anguish, “I killed someone’s baby!” after she fatally struck her 8-year-old neighbor Monday night in the Bronx, police and witnesses said.
The boy, Cellou Diallo, was part of a group of children who the minivan’s 34-year-old driver was taking home from an after-school program, cops and neighbors said.
The driver had the children get out of her vehicle and then tried to parallel park on E. 215th St. near Barnes Ave. in Williamsbridge just after 6 p.m. She jumped the curb, tragically hitting Cellou as he stood on the sidewalk, police said.
The minivan (photo) pinned the child against a cement wall, killing him, cops said.
“I killed a mother’s baby! I killed someone’s baby!” the driver wailed, according to Sharron Martin, 40, who saw the horrible aftermath.
“It just hit him out of nowhere,” said Beverly Taylor, who watched helplessly as the white Toyota minivan struck the boy. “I saw the little boy. He was just standing there. The car was parking and it just hit him.”
The driver, whom police did not identify, got out of the minivan and tried to help, Taylor said.
“But there was nothing she could do,” she said. “He was already gone.”
The driver was dropping off a halfdozen neighborhood children — four boys and two girls, including Cellou, Martin said.
“I felt for him because he didn’t live his life,” she said. “The kid never saw it happen. It was instant dead at impact.”
Cellou’s family gathered on Holland Ave., where he lived. His father, who was visibly distraught, declined to comment.
The driver stayed at the crash site and no charges were filed as police continued their investigation.