Van Accident Kills 2-Year-Old

A 2-year-old boy was killed on Greenpoint Avenue in Long Island City last Thursday morning after a van made a sharp left turn into the boys stroller.
The boy, Daniel Campos, was being pushed by his babysitter, 28-year-old Filomena Tobon, when his stroller was run over by the van just two short blocks from his familys apartment. The boys body was propelled from his stroller by the impact of the vans back tire.
Daniel was rushed to nearby Elmhurst Hospital Center, where he died a half hour later. Tobon narrowly escaped being hit and was also treated at Elmhurst Hospital Center for minor injuries.
The vans driver, Harold Basil, 51, an employee of Helmar Construction in Farmingdale, received a summons for failure to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk but was not charged with anything further. The Queens District Attorneys office is conducting an ongoing investigation.
Basil said that he did not see the boy or his babysitter when he made a left turn onto Greenpoint Avenue from the westbound service road of the Long Island Expressway.
Daniels father, Danny Vasquez, a mechanic at Van Dam Auto in Long Island City, rushed to the scene of the accident after hearing the news. His mother, Maria Elena Campos, a housekeeper, was working at the time. Daniels parents moved to New York about a year ago in search of a better life for their only son.
Funeral services were held this Monday at the Transfiguration Catholic Church in Brooklyn as friends and neighbors continue to place flowers and cards at the familys apartment in remembrance of Daniel.
editorial@queenscourier.com