One dead, four injured after car strikes them at Brooklyn intersection — witnesses ‘scared and crying’
One person died, a child was reported clinging to life and three other people were hurt after a car slammed into them in Brooklyn on Saturday, fire officials said.
The pedestrian victims were on Ralph Ave. near Halsey St. in Bedford-Stuyvesant when a speeding vehicle barreled toward a deli on the corner just before 7:15 p.m., the FDNY and sources said.
The car mowed down the pedestrians on the sidewalk before it hit the building, police and sources said.
Business owner Noah Meares, who was hosting a pop-up shop on the block, heard “a loud noise” from the horrific crash.
“I looked up and saw a lady fly on the air,” said Meares, 33. “When I realized she got hit, I ran inside...and yelled for someone to call 911.”
He saw the car that appeared to cause the crash as it sped away.
Meares’ colleague, a registered nurse, ran to help the injured pedestrians.
When medics arrived, one person was already dead, police said.
“I was walking and I saw a lady on the floor not moving, not responding,” said Lasinda Matthews 36. “I wasn’t able to see her face. She was lying dead on the street.”
An employee at BLM Natural Deli on the corner watched as terrified bystanders poured into the store after the crash.
“There were a lot of people in the store scared and crying,” said the man, who asked not to be named. “I saw a little boy, about 10 years old, in the street lying down. He didn’t look good.”
The child was hospitalized in critical condition on Saturday evening, sources said. The other victims were also treated at area hospitals.
Police took one person of interest into custody for questioning, cops said.
The owner of a nearby barber shop said a traffic light was installed near the scene of the crash several years ago in an attempt to slow down traffic on the busy stretch.
“This is very fast paced area traffic,” said Dushaun Crawford, 53. “It’s an avenue, it’s wide, and people speed.”
