A Halloween candy event hosted by a Brooklyn police precinct ended in hospital runs on Thursday afternoon, October 29, after a car mounted the pavement outside the NYPD's 83rd Precinct in Bushwick and struck people gathered for the stationhouse's 'Trunk or Treat' party. CBS New York reported that three adults and a child were struck and taken to hospital and that all four were expected to survive, while the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) put the wider treatment figure at at least six people. Police said a person of interest was taken into custody at the scene.
Source: CBS New York, Oct. 29, 2026
The collision happened just before 4 p.m. on Knickerbocker Avenue, near Bleecker Street, in front of the precinct, where families had gathered for the Halloween event. According to police accounts carried by New York outlets, the driver of a black sedan lost control, mounted the curb and drove into people at the event, and the car then also struck a private ambulance that had been stationed outside the precinct for the festivities. Emergency crews were already on hand for the event, and additional people were evaluated at the scene by EMS, the FDNY said.
Who was hurt, and where they were taken
Later reports on Thursday evening, including ABC7 Eyewitness News, put the injured at three adults and three children. The injured were described as a 74-year-old woman and an 8-year-old boy taken to Wyckoff Heights Medical Center; a 31-year-old woman and two girls, ages 6 and 11, taken to Bellevue Hospital; and a 53-year-old woman taken to Elmhurst Hospital. All of the injured were reported to be in stable condition. In line with Awaaz Punjab's minor-safety rule, the children are identified by age only — no names of any of the injured had been released in the reports.
The two early counts are not the same number because they measure different things: CBS New York's first report counted four people struck and hospitalised, while the FDNY's figure of at least six covers everyone treated after the collision, including people assessed at the scene. Police had not issued a final reconciled casualty list by Thursday night, and Awaaz Punjab is reporting both attributed figures rather than adding them together.
The driver, and the drink-driving allegation
Police took the 56-year-old driver into custody at the scene, and later reports said a passenger was also taken into custody. Citing police and law-enforcement sources, New York Post reporting described the driver as a suspected drink-driver who was given a breathalyser test in custody. That is an allegation reported from sources, not a finding: no charge had been publicly announced by Thursday night, the driver's name had not been released, and police said charges were expected as the investigation continued. There was no indication the driver intentionally targeted officers or children, and the incident was not being treated as terror-related, according to those source accounts.
Source: New York Post reporting, via 1st Responder News, Oct. 29, 2026
The drink-driving account comes from police sources quoted in press reports. The NYPD had announced no charge and released no name by Thursday night; anyone charged in this case is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
Why a police precinct was hosting a Halloween party
'Trunk or treat' events — where children collect candy from decorated car boots in a closed-off, supervised space — are held across the United States in the days before Halloween, October 31, precisely because parents and police departments regard them as a safer alternative to door-to-door trick-or-treating on dark streets. The 83rd Precinct's event had drawn neighbourhood families, and emergency personnel and vehicles were stationed outside for the celebration, which is why an ambulance was parked where the sedan came to a stop.
What it means for New York's immigrant neighbourhoods
Bushwick is one of Brooklyn's most heavily immigrant neighbourhoods, and precinct community events like this one are attended by families from across the city's diaspora communities — including the Punjabi and South Asian families concentrated in nearby Queens neighbourhoods such as Richmond Hill and Jackson Heights. The crash is a reminder, days before Halloween itself, that the days around October 31 concentrate children on pavements after dark across the city, and that police-hosted events are not immune from the road risk they are designed to reduce.
What happens next
The NYPD investigation into why the sedan left the roadway is continuing. The next official steps are a charging decision against the driver in custody, any court appearance that follows, and a final police account reconciling how many people were struck, treated and hospitalised. Awaaz Punjab will update this story when the NYPD names charges or releases its full account.