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Man Fatally Struck by Bus Near BQE in Queens

By  Elizabeth Hagen and Dan Rivoli | August 20, 2012 11:39am | Updated on August 20, 2012 4:27pm

QUEENS — A veteran Brooklyn truck driver and grandfather of five was struck and killed by a bus on a Woodside street near the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway Monday morning, officials said.

The victim, Thackoo "Tony" Hargobin, 52, of Canarsie, was struck at 25-60 Borough Pl., near 50th Street just before 9:30 a.m., the FDNY said.

Witnesses said the man, a truckdriver for more than 20 years for Super-Tek Products, Inc., was fixing straps on the side of his truck when a bus carrying developmentally disabled people struck him.

Hargobin was born in Trinidad, but has lived in New York with his wife, Rose, for more than 20 years, according to his son-in-law Don Harripersad, who said the family was shocked by the news of his death.

A man was struck by a vehicle and killed near the BQE Aug. 20. Police identified the victim as Thackoo Hargobin, 52.
A man was struck by a vehicle and killed near the BQE Aug. 20. Police identified the victim as Thackoo Hargobin, 52.
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DNAinfo/Theodore Parisienne

"He was an ordinary guy, a hard worker," Harripersad said. "Went to work every day. Came home and worked on his house, had a few beers and went to bed."

He had two daughters, Usha and Keesha, and five young grandchildren. His mother also lived with him and his wife in their Brooklyn home.

"You don't expect a day like this," Harripersad said. "You're on the phone hearing what's happened but you're not really understanding what's happening."

Sal Banchitta, 50, who works at a stoneworks company a few doors down from Super-Tek, said that the scene of the incident is dangerous.

"People drive very, very, fast [on the street]," Banchitta said, adding that Borough Place "becomes like a zoo in the morning."

Cops said they did not suspect any criminality and did not issue any summonses.