An eight-year-old boy was struck and killed by an SUV as he and his older sister crossed the street while walking home from visiting their grandmother in Crown Heights on Saturday afternoon.
A black Honda Pilot slammed into eight-year-old Mordechai Keller as he crossed Eastern Parkway at Albany Street at 5:33 p.m., according to police.
“He was a boy who loved life,” the boy’s aunt, Baila Krainer, told The Post late Saturday.
Mordechai Keller, 8, was killed Saturday while crossing the street in Brooklyn. Obtained by NY PostThe 69-year-old driver of the southbound vehicle stayed at the scene as EMS attempted to save Keller’s life.
Keller was pronounced dead on arrival at Kings County Hospital, according to police.
Family members tell The Post that Keller and his 17-year-old sister, who has a learning disability, were walking home from visiting their grandmother at the time of the tragic accident.
“He always had a smile on his face, always smiling. He loved to learn, a good-natured kid,” Krainer said.
A teacher at Keller’s school, who was at Krainer’s residence, added, “I loved that boy. He was a great kid.”
Neighbors were shocked by the tragedy, telling The Post that the boy, who was a member of the Chabad community, was struck while crossing Albany Street with his older sister.
An eight-year-old boy was pronounced dead shortly after being struck by an SUV in Crown Heights. Robert Mecea
The driver of the vehicle stayed on the scene, and was not arrested. Robert Mecea
Officials clean blood up off the street where an 8-year-old boy was killed, as part of religious customs on June 28, 2025. Marie Pohl/NY Post“They were walking, he was crossing the street with his sister. She’s 17-years-old,” Ben Kattam, 44, a Toronto-native, told The Post.
“It wasn’t like [the driver] was drunk or something. And he had a green light. I can tell you that he looked very sad.”
Misaskim, a Jewish aid organization, was on the scene of the accident following sundown, gathering bloodied clothing and washing the grisly stains off the concrete.
Relatives of Keller stand around at the site of the fatal crash on Eastern Parkway and Albany Ave. in Brooklyn on June 28, 2025. Robert MeceaThe driver of the vehicle has not been arrested though an investigation is ongoing.
Earlier this year, Jewish mother Natasha Saada and two of her daughters Diana, 7, and Debra, 5, were struck and killed by an out-of-control Audi while crossing the street on Ocean Parkway.
The driver of that car, wigmaker Miriam Yarimi, was charged with three counts of manslaughter and three counts of criminally negligent homicide.
