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VIDEO: Skateboarder Killed by Hit-and-Run SUV Driver, NYPD Says

 Alejandro Tello, 18, was fatally struck by an SUV driver in Gravesend, police said.
Alejandro Tello, 18, was fatally struck by an SUV driver in Gravesend, police said.
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GRAVESEND — A skateboarder heading home from work at a Brooklyn amusement park was killed after being run over by an SUV driver who then fled the scene on Sunday afternoon, police said.

Alejandro Tello, 18, was skating along Avenue T  when he rode into the path of the driver, who was turning right onto West 10th Street about 3:10 p.m., according to video and NYPD officials.

Warning: Graphic video.

Video shows the driver pause at the intersection, begin to make a right turn, but then speed up as Tello approaches, running him over and then driving away.

Tello, who also went by Alex and lived in the neighborhood on West Seventh Street, was pronounced dead at Maimonides Medical Center, police said.

Investigators tracked the vehicle, a BMW, to Bay 14th Street about 3 a.m. Monday, an NYPD spokesman said. There were no immediate arrests, police said.

Grieving relatives, some of whom placed roses below a lamppost tied up with police tape, said they forgave the driver despite their heartbreak.

"Alex wasn't very religious, but he believed there was a God. To forgive others, [that] was him. We're trying to do the same," said his brother Ben Tello, 20.

Still, they wished the driver had stopped because then Tello might have lived.

"Alex is a survivor, strong. I think he would've had a chance if [the driver] would've stopped," his brother said.

Tello Family
(DNAinfo/Trevor Kapp)

Some pleaded for the driver, whose identity police didn't immediately release, to surrender to investigators.

"I hope he comes forward. I forgive him even though it was my cousin," said Alejandro's cousin, Hector Tello, 24, .

"Why he didn't stop, I don't know."

Tello had gotten a summer job working the rides at Adventures Amusement Park, near Coney Island, but he aspired to join law enforcement, family said.

"He loved helping people. He wanted to be a private detective. He loved forensics," his brother said.

Tello liked to extend that care to his family, relatives said.

"He was a really good person. He always had positive energy. He wanted to make sure his family was OK. He had plans," Tello's cousin said.

The young man, who enjoyed playing piano and guitar, had been skating for years and had been riding the very board his older brother gave him.

"Since he was little, he did this every day. He loved it. He skateboarded and roller bladed every day," Tello said.

"My heart feels a lot of sadness right now," the cousin said.

Grieving relatives urged calm after Tello's death.

"I know some people are angry at what happened, but I hope they can find the peace. One of the last things [Tello] spoke about waskeeping people together. Of course, it's tragic," his brother said.