ASTORIA — Cops fatally struck a man who ran into the middle of the street while they were responding a 911 call early Thursday morning, according to the NYPD.
The officers were driving east on 40th Avenue about 12:45 a.m. when they slammed into a man who was trying to cross the avenue midway between 10th and 11th Streets near the Queensbridge South Houses, cops said.
A witness said the cops were careening down the street with their sirens blaring when they hit the pedestrian.
"There was no time for him to run. It was too fast," said a woman who asked not to be identified.
She said he was sprawled out in the street after the crash.
"He was laid out. He was breathing," she said.
The man, whose identity was not immediately released, was later pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
Neither officer in the patrol car was injured in the crash, an FDNY spokesman said.
Police said they are investigating the incident.
