Fundraiser Launched For Toddler Hit By Taxi In Long Island City

LONG ISLAND CITY, QUEENS — The family of a toddler struck by a taxi in Long Island City has launched a fundraiser to pay his medical bills.

Two-year-old Mason Castillo was crossing the intersection at Queens Plaza South and 28th Street with his grandmother on April 24 when a cab driver hit him and fled the scene, ABC7 reported. The boy was on his way to the daycare where his mother works, according to the news channel.

The boy's aunt, Diana Castillo, set up a GoFundMe to help pay his medical bills and enable his mother to stay home from work and take care of him as he heals. The fundraiser has so far yielded more than $8,500 and drew attention from City Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer.

Please share & give what you can to support Mason Castillo, a two-year-old boy who suffered a broken leg & fractured skull from an awful hit-and-run crash last week in LIC. I’m so thankful Mason is alive. Let’s come together to help him & his mom recover!https://t.co/LiUUE0LjI9
— Jimmy Van Bramer (@JimmyVanBramer) April 29, 2019

Mason underwent two surgeries for a skull fracture and a broken leg. He won't be able to walk for up to six weeks and will need physical therapy, his aunt said on GoFundMe.

"Mason remains very frightened and anxious from this traumatic experience. We are still not sure when Mason can come home," the boy's aunt wrote on GoFundMe. "We are extremely fortunate Mason is alive after this terrible incident."

Police on Friday arrested the driver, 20-year-old Ramanpreet Singh, on charges of leaving the scene of a crash with a serious injury, failure to yield to a pedestrian and failure to use due care, according to ABC7.