A driver fatally struck a man who was lying in the middle of a Brooklyn street late Tuesday – after mistaking him for a bag of trash or a blanket, cops and police sources said.
The pedestrian was lying in the right lane of northbound Ocean Parkway, near Neptune Avenue, in Brighton Beach around 7:20 p.m. when the driver of a 2013 Chevrolet Impala struck him, police said.
The driver, 56, attempted to swerve around the man – who he believed was simply a garbage bag or blanket blocking the roadway – but couldn’t avoid hitting him, police sources said.
He ended up dragging the pedestrian under his sedan for several feet before coming to a stop, cops said.
Responding officers found the man unconscious and unresponsive, with severe body trauma, under the Impala.
He was taken to Coney Island Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. He has not been identified.
It was not immediately clear why he was lying in the street.
The driver stayed at the scene and was not arrested.