A 12-year-old boy is dead after being hit by a livery cab in Harlem Wednesday afternoon. NY1's Lori Chung filed the following report.
Before she knew it, crossing guard Phyllis Miles said Ervi Secundino was hit.
"The boy, he went up and hit the car, and then went down on the ground," Miles said.
Police say the 12-year-old was headed home after school, trying to get across Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard on West 150th Street Wednesday afternoon when he was struck by a livery cab. The driver stayed at the scene as police investigated.
"There's usually a cop car that's on that corner there, but today, it wasn't. Of all days," said one person at the scene.
Secundino was a sixth grader at Frederick Douglass Academy, one of several nearby schools. There's also a library and park near the corner where he was struck.
Parents say this stretch of has been a source of concern for years.
"So many cars disregard these lights even though we have schools down here," said one parent. "I'm not surprised that this happened. We need speed bumps out here."
Secundino was hit and killed just five blocks from his home on 145th Street, where neighbors say he's one of five children being raised by a single mother. Those who know the family are devastated at their loss.
"Any time I saw the mother, the wonderful mother, wonderful, wonderful mother, she don't care [about] herself. She only love the family," said one person who knows the family.
Department of Education officials said there will be extra guidance counselors on hand at Frederick Douglass Academy to help students cope with the tragedy. In the meantime, the investigation continues.