Maspeth Boy Killed by Gas Truck

The remains of 12-year-old Frederick Endres’ bicycle near the intersection of Fresh Pond Road and Eliot Avenue after it was struck by a tanker truck.

12-year-old struck at Eliot Ave and Fresh Pond Road

By Patricia Adams

Frederick Endres would have celebrated his 13th birthday on Thursday. Instead, his family will spend the day grieving with friends and loved ones after the boy was struck and killed on Monday afternoon.

Police at the 104th Precinct said the 12-year-old was trying to cross the intersection of Fresh Pond Road and Eliot Avenue on his bicycle when he was hit by a large tanker truck about 1:30 p.m.

The 18-wheel truck was making a wide right turn from Eliot Avenue onto Fresh Pond Road and ran over the boy with its rear wheels.

Witnesses at the busy Maspeth intersection were horrified by the events and say the driver did not see the boy crossing.

An employee at the Citgo gas station at the intersection ran to help. “He wasn’t moving,” a visibly shaken Ron Digi told reporters at the scene. “He wasn’t speaking. He looked gone the moment I got over there.”

According to Digi and other witnesses, the driver pulled over and got out of the truck to see what had happened and proceeded to make several phone calls. Police say the accident investigation is still ongoing. The driver was issued three summonses at the scene—one for driving off a truck route and two for equipment violations.

Frederick Endres was immediately rushed to Wyckoff Heights Medical Center in cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead on arrival.

He had been biking to meet his best friend, Joseph Larosa, in front of nearby Pet Palace on Fresh Pond Road when he was hit. The boys, known throughout the neighborhood as Freddy and Joey, were inseparable. They knew each other since kindergarten and their moms also share a close friendship. Having met at the store nearly every day to ride together around the neighborhood and Juniper Valley Park, Joey Larosa is heartbroken over the loss of his best friend. “We did everything together. We hung out almost every day.”

Freddy’s mother, Frances Endres told reporters her son had just started to be allowed away from their home on his own. The devastated mother said, “He was my baby. My soul is gone without him. My heart is broken.”

A memorial of flowers, candles and birthday balloons now marks the scene of the tragic accident, just a short distance from his home. People arriving at the makeshift memorial stopped to read the messages left there by friends and loved ones. “Freddy was different,” said one woman gathered, “He made you laugh all the time. He was a great kid.”

A handwritten card affixed to a bouquet of tulips left a tender message from a family who knew Freddy well: “May God bless you and your family. You are in our prayers. You were a beautiful young boy and you will be missed so much. Sabrina will miss you dearly. We all will baby. Rest in peace sweetheart. With all our love.”