A Brooklyn man was arraigned on Friday with charges that included attempted murder, assault and other offences for striking a woman with a vehicle near Wortman and Alabama Avenues, an area known as the “Penn Track,” a stretch of roadway where people are known to engage in sexual conduct for money.
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said the defendant, identified as Kevin Morgan, 31, is accused of intentionally accelerating a vehicle into the victim while she was standing in a crosswalk, causing serious injuries that could have been fatal. Prosecutors allege the attack was deliberate and targeted a particularly vulnerable individual.
“Targeting a vulnerable individual in a crosswalk is a cowardly act of extreme depravity that will not be tolerated in Brooklyn," Gonzalez said in a statement. "We allege that the victim in this case was subjected to a terrifying, intentional assault that could have cost her life."
The investigation began after the victim, a 25-year-old woman, reported to police that she had been assaulted by multiple individuals near Wortman and Alabama Avenues in the early morning hours of Jan. 1, 2024. At the time, she was engaging in sexual conduct for money.
During the course of that investigation, detectives recovered surveillance footage showing a red Jeep, registered to the defendant, stopped at the intersection before allegedly accelerating directly into the victim while she was in the crosswalk.
Investigators later discovered a second video taken from inside the Jeep on an iPad that was seized during a traffic stop involving the vehicle. The defendant was driving the Jeep at the time of the stop, which occurred following an alleged traffic infraction.
The video, allegedly recorded by a female passenger seated in the back of the Jeep, appears to capture the defendant and the passenger discussing the victim moments before the vehicle strikes her. Prosecutors allege the footage shows the Jeep driving directly into the woman.
Authorities further allege that the defendant later sent the video to multiple individuals, expressing no remorse and characterizing the incident as a message.
The victim was transported to Brookdale Hospital, where she was treated for injuries consistent with being assaulted and struck by a motor vehicle. She reportedly has no independent memory of being hit by the Jeep. No arrests have been made in connection with the separate alleged assault reported earlier that morning.
Morgan is scheduled to return to court on March 4.
