South Slope Man Fatally Crushes 3-Year-Old With Van, Cops Say

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK — A South Slope man fatally crushed a 3-year-old boy with his candy van in Bath Beach Thursday afternoon, police said.

Johnny Gonzalez, 61, faces criminal charges for hitting Emur Shavkator with his 2011 Chevy van at Bay 25th Street and Benson Avenue at about 12:45 p.m., police said.

A relative told the New York Daily News Shavkator, riding a green scooter, had been with his mom and his three-month-old baby sister when he hit a few blocks away from the family’s home.

Emergency responders rushed Shavkator to Coney Island Hospital but doctors were unable to save his life, said police.

Gonzalez remained at the crash site and was later charged with failure to yield to pedestrian failure to exercise due care, but Gonzalez told the New York Post he blamed the boy's mother for letting him into the crosswalk.

“I don’t know where he came from," Gonzalez reportedly said. "He came into my blind spot from somewhere because he wasn’t at the crosswalk.”

Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams responded to news of the crash on Twitter and called on the Department of Transportation to investigate conditions at the intersection.

"We mourn his loss and pray for the recovery of his mom," Adams wrote.