Unlicensed Driver Charged in Hit-and-Run Killing of Brooklyn Pedestrian

A suspect was arrested and charged in the September hit-and-run death of a pedestrian in Sheepshead Bay.

Francis Perez, 28, was crossing Avenue V between Ford and Coyle streets at around 8 p.m. on September 23 when a motorist struck him and fled, according to the Daily News.

“The guy flew in the air, and then the [driver]… stopped at that corner and just drove off,” said a witness.

Perez, who lived and worked near the crash scene, bought snacks for his 8-year-old son just before he was struck.

“He just went to the store to buy some sodas and Snickers,” Perez’s girlfriend Sandra Mcillwain told the News. “Something fell from his hand and he went to pick it up and he went flying.”

“He had the biggest heart,” Mcillwain said. “Ask anyone around here.”

Police identified a suspect, 47-year-old Brian Young, shortly after the crash. Young was arrested on September 27, according to court records. He was charged with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death and third degree aggravated unlicensed operation.

Leaving the scene of a deadly crash, the top charge against Young, is a class D felony with penalties ranging from probation to seven years in prison. Young was not charged for the act of killing Perez.

Young was arraigned last week. He pled not guilty and was held on $200,000 bond. His next court appearance is scheduled for December.

This fatal crash occurred in the 61st Precinct, and in the City Council district represented by Alan Maisel.