DYKER HEIGHTS — A man waiting for the bus was struck and killed by a pickup truck that jumped the curb after a collision with a minivan, cops said.
James McCloskey, 71, of Ovington Avenue, was sitting at a bus stop near the intersection of 13th Avenue and Bay Ridge Parkway about 11:40 a.m. Tuesday when a 1996 Dodge Ram pickup truck headed eastbound on Bay Ridge Parkway slammed into a gray 1996 Isuzu Oasis driving south on 13th Avenue, according to police.
The crash caused the truck to lose control, hop the curb and hit McCloskey, cops said.
He was taken to Lutheran Hospital, where he died, a spokesman for the fire department said.
"It's upsetting," said Liz Pristouris, who works at the Parkway Restaurant where McCloskey had breakfast that morning. "I spoke to him every morning. We talked about the Mets. We would curse the owners. He hated the owners because he thought they made bad decisions."
She said eating breakfast at the diner was part of his daily routine.
"He was retired. He'd take the bus here, eat breakfast and then take the bus home," she said. "He said to me, 'Bye, Liz, see you tomorrow. It's so sad."
