NYPD says Brooklyn collision was accident, not deliberate crime | Fact check
The claim: NYPD is investigating car collision with Jewish pedestrians as 'potential hate crime'
A Jan. 2 Threads post (direct link, archive link) claims New York authorities are labeling a Brooklyn traffic accident an intentional attack.
"BREAKING: A vehicle has reportedly driven into a group of Jewish pedestrians in Brooklyn, NYC, in what appears to be a deliberate act," the post reads. "The NYPD is treating the incident as a potential hate crime while officials evaluate the injuries sustained."
The post garnered more than 300 likes in three days. Other versions of the claim were shared on X.
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Our rating: False
The New York Police Department said the collision was an accident caused by the driver's lack of attention. The department hasn't made any statements labeling the incident a potential hate crime.
Collision determined to be accidental
A 69-year-old driver struck three pedestrians while turning right in a Brooklyn intersection on New Year's Eve, according to an NYPD spokesperson who declined to provide a name for attribution. The pedestrians – two women, aged 56 and 62, and a 1-year-old boy – were injured and sent to Maimonides Medical Center in stable condition.
NYPD Deputy Chief Richie Taylor told The Times of Israel the collision was caused by the driver's "extreme inattention" and said the driver stayed at the scene after the incident and apologized.
The NYPD spokesperson told Paste BN that "criminality is not suspected" in the crash.
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The incident occurred near the Kingsway Jewish Center in Midwood, a neighborhood with a large Jewish population, but the NYPD did not specify in its remarks whether the victims were Jewish. The department hasn't released any statements labeling the incident "a potential hate crime" or stating the collision was deliberate.
News 12 Brooklyn reported that a "minor car accident" occurred at the same corner two days later and said eight people had been injured at an intersection one block away since November 2024. The 69-year-old driver had not been charged as of Jan. 2, according to the outlet.
The Anti-Defamation League recorded more than 10,000 antisemitic incidents between Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and Sept. 24, 2024. This includes a May 2024 incident in which a New York driver was arrested on hate crime charges after trying to hit people outside an Orthodox Jewish school, according to NBC News.
Paste BN reached out to the user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Our fact-check sources
- NYPD spokesperson, Jan. 6, Email exchange with Paste BN
- The Times of Israel, Jan. 3, Vehicular ramming that alarmed New York Jews was an accident – NYPD
- News 12 Brooklyn, Jan. 2, NYPD: 3 pedestrians, including 1-year-old struck on New Year's Eve
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