Mo Vaughn Criticized After Child's Tragic Death On His New York Property
BOSTON (CBS) - A 12-year-old boy was killed on Sunday while playing on an automatic parking-lot gate on a property owned by former Red Sox slugger Mo Vaughn.
Yakim McDaniels was crushed while playing a game of chicken on the sensor-activated gate in his Brooklyn apartment complex, owned by Vaughn's Onmi New York LLC.
Residents told the New York Post children often played on the gate.
Vaughn and his group have agreed to remove the gate, but they being criticized for not doing so sooner.
CBS New York: Residents Want Safer Place To Play
Councilman Charles Barron of Brooklyn said he had been warning Vaughn "for months" that they needed to make more recreational equipment available to the Brownsville residence, according to the Post.
"We let them know that a tragedy could happen if they didn't have more recreation for the children," Barron said.
"[Kids] wouldn't have been playing on this [gate] if they had a basketball court or some other kind of facility," he added. "This kid should be alive."
Arleigh Hardy, a spokeswoman for complex manager Reliant Realty, said Vaughn and his business partner Eugene Schneur had agreed to replace the gate "as soon as possible."
Vaughn and the other owners also plan to pay for Yakim's funeral.
"We extend our deepest sympathy and condolences to the family," Hardy said.
Vaughn played eight of his 12 Major League seasons with the Red Sox from 1991-1998. He finished his career as a member of the New York Mets from 2002-2003.
