Brooklyn Driver Seen Ramming Pedestrians Charged, Records Show

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK — The driver caught on video ramming his minivan into three pedestrians then speeding away was arrested for harassment and other charges, court records show.

Juan Paulino, 27, threw his grey minivan into reverse and knocked three men to the ground on the corner of 11th Avenue and 56th Street at about 6:30 p.m. Saturday night, according to a criminal complaint and local surveillance footage.

“This is more than a simple hit and run,” local resident Jack Asher wrote in a Tweet, along with a video clip of the incident. “It is really serious and disturbing.”

The surveillance footage, obtained from a local store owner, shows four people jumping out of Paulino’s car, prosecutors said.

As one of Paulino’s passengers chases a pedestrian down the street, Paulino jumps into his minivan, backs up to the intersection, waits for another car to pass then slams into Samuel Grossman, Mordechai Kuten and Abraham Kuten, court records show.

Grossman was treated for three fractured ribs, neck injuries, and a cut on his head that required several staples at Maimonides Hospital, Mordechai Kuten was treated for cuts on his hand at foot at a local hospital, and Abraham, Kuten’s son, was treated for a scrape on his thigh and bruising on his foot, court records show.

Police later arrested Paulino who admitted, “in sum and substance, that’s me getting into the car, that’s my car,” according to the criminal complaint.

Paulino was arraigned in Brooklyn Criminal Court Monday and charged with reckless endangerment, leaving the scene of an incident and harassment, court records show.

Bail was set at $5,000 and Paulino is slated to return to court on Friday, court records show.

A representative from the Legal Aid Society, who will be representing Paulino, declined to comment.

Header photo, used with permission, courtesy of Jack Asher/Twitter