A car hopped the curb in the East Village this morning, mowing down everything in its path and sending 8 people to the hospital, according to the fire department.
“It was a scene out of a movie,” said Rafael, a witness who didn’t want his last name used.
According to him and another witness, Luis Martinez, the white sedan jumped the curb just south of East Fifth Street and spun to a halt at the intersection of East Fourth Street and Second Avenue, plowing through the flower stand at East Village Grocery and uprooting multiple street signs, a phone booth, a small tree, a refrigerator, and a fire hydrant that went flying into the door of Calliope restaurant.
Three people were sent to Bellevue Hospital in serious condition, 2 were in serious but stable condition, and 3 sustained minor injuries, according to the fire department.
The police department was still gathering information but a spokesperson said the driver was a man carrying a female passenger.
The two witnesses we spoke to told a different story, describing the driver as a middle-aged woman who appeared to be disoriented when she emerged from the vehicle.
According to one of them, a worker at the deli was removed from a pile of debris from the flower stand and taken to the hospital.
Lal Kiran, an owner of East Village Grocery, confirmed that one of his employees was among those who were “badly hurt.”
Update, 11:30 a.m.: The police now tell Bedford + Bowery the driver was a 32-year-old man who sustained minor injuries and is currently in stable condition at Bellevue Hospital. The female passenger was not injured in the crash. A witness tells the Daily News that the car was racing against another vehicle. The Times reports that victims included a 62-year-old man who is in serious condition and a Citi-Bike rider who is in stable condition.
