Two young boys – “inseparable” best friends – were injured yesterday when they were struck by a car while playing in a Brooklyn street after school, police said.
The accident left one of them, 9-year-old Arkel Gordon McCarter, in serious condition in Kings County Hospital.
“He’s a fine boy,” said Arkel’s uncle, Howard Gordon. “It was a shock. It really is.”
The accident occurred at about 3:20 p.m. on Fulton Street in Fort Greene, cops said.
The victims, both students at PS 11, were playing in the street when they were mowed down by the car, witnesses said.
The driver, a 49-year-old man, remained at the scene until cops arrived, and no charges were filed.
Both boys were taken to Kings County Hospital.
While Arkel suffered serious head trauma, the other boy, 8-year-old Wandan George, was not as badly injured and is expected to make a full recovery.
“They’re really close friends,” Gordon said. “[Wandan is] often over at the house. They’re inseparable.”
Gordon said that his nephew’s entire family was at his bedside.
“I’m not doing good,” said the boy’s mother, Felicia, a JFK Airport ramp agent. “It’s like a nightmare for me.”
She said doctors told her that her son had blood on both sides of his brain.
Relatives said Arkel is a sports fan who loves football and baseball. His mother said he’d like to become a pro wrestler when he grows up.
“He’s just a really warm boy,” the uncle said. “We really do believe that prayer works.”
Additional reporting by Heidi Singer