Indian-origin man accused in hit-and-run incident in Queens

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According to news reports and the GoFundMe page put up by the family, a two-year old boy walking across the street with his grandmother in Long Island City, Queens, was the victim of a hit-and-run incident April 24.

The driver’s name mentioned in news reports indicates he is of Indian descent.

An abc7ny.com report two days after the incident, quoting police sources, said Ramanpreet Singh, 20, who just got his driver’s license in March, and was driving his father’s cab, hit the child at the intersection of 28th Street and Queens Plaza South in Long Island City that morning.

Singh has been charged with leaving the scene of an accident with a serious injury, failure to yield to a pedestrian and failure to use due care resulting in a serious injury, according to the abc7ny report.

The child, Mason Castillo, was badly hurt and is being treated at the New York Presbyterian-Weill Cornell Medical Center, treatment.The family has set up a GoFundMe page for raising funds needed during Mason’s medical treatment – https://www.gofundme.com/f/bpc6y9-mason039s-medical-bills.

As of April 29 afternoon, $8,065 has been raised of the goal of $10,000.

The GoFundMe page set up by Mason’s aunt Diana Castillo, says, “… my nephew Mason was struck by a taxi on his way to school while he was crossing the street with my mother. They had the right away to cross, however, a taxi driver sped through and hit him. The taxi driver proceeded to run him over and fled the scene. He was rushed to the hospital where doctors stated he had a broken leg and had fractured his skull. Mason has undergone two surgeries for both injuries and remains in the hospital.  He has cast on his leg and will not be able to walk for 4-6 weeks. He will also have to undergo extensive physical therapy to help him walk.”

“As a result, Mason remains very frightened and anxious from this traumatic experience. We are still not sure when Mason can come home,” Diana Castillo says, adding, “We are extremely fortunate Mason is alive after this terrible incident.” His mother will be staying home to take care of the child, the GoFundMe plea says, and cannot return to work until Mason is better.