Surveillance video has been released showing the alleged hit-and-run incident on Monday that left a 15-year-old girl dead after a school bus failed to give way in Brooklyn, New York.
The video shows the bus in question hitting Antonina Zatulovska around 8 a.m. before driving away at the intersection of Bedford Avenue and Avenue P in Sheepshead Bay, the New York Post reported.
The driver can be seen allegedly hitting Zatulovska with the front right corner of school bus knocking her to the ground. As he continues, the rear wheels roll over her body leaving her on the street.
The driver was later identified as Aleksandr Patlakh, 55, and was arrested Monday near his home around 10 a.m. and charged with failure to yield to a pedestrian and failure to use due care, issued a ticket and released following the alleged hit-and-run, the NY Post reported. (RELATED: Thief Slams 85-Year-Old Woman Into Wall After Dragging Her With Cane: Police)
According to police, Patlakh asserted he failed to realize he had hit someone despite Zatulovska having the right of way, CBS2 reported.
First responders confirmed Zatulovska’s death at the scene, they also could not conclude where she was going or why the bus was that day as schools were closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the NY Post reported.
A tragic loss: 15-year-old Antonina Zatulovska should be alive today. We send our deepest condolences to her family.
Drivers must take individual accountability and respect pedestrians’ rights. Citywide, we need systemic solutions to end traffic violence.https://t.co/QrlmH1c06e
— Office of the Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams (@nycpa) January 18, 2022
“I don’t know if he didn’t realize that he hit somebody or something. But he kept on going and he didn’t stop,” a witness told CBS2.
“This poor little girl. She was just a small, small human. And the bus driver probably just didn’t realize that he unfortunately took someone’s life with the way he was driving,” he continued.
Witnesses claim there were children on the bus, according to CBS2.