News

Students badly hurt in three vehicle crash

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

(New York - WABC, January 24, 2007) (WABC) -- An out of control driver who police say was under the influence triggered a slew of accidents in Brooklyn. It happened at the intersection of 65th Street and Fort Hamilton Parkway just after 8:15 a.m. Eyewitness News reporter Sandra Bookman is at Lutheran Medical Center with the latest.

Six people were brought here after that crash: Three people who were pedestrians, three who were drivers or passengers in the three vehicles involved. All of this, police say, was triggered by a driver they say was drunk.

Three mangled vehicles remained in the Dyker Heights intersection hours after the morning accident as investigators tried to piece together exactly what happened.

Gerri Reyes watched it all happen and said, "I was hysterical. The first thing I did was scream, 'it's bad, it's bad, it's bad..'

Reyes was standing outside her family's store on the corner right near where the accident happened. She describes seeing a white Lexus speeding, going east on 65th Street.

Reyes says, "On the corner was a group of people, women and children waiting to cross and a black vehicle coming from the opposite direction and could not get out of his way. He hit into the white car. The next thing I know there are people all over the floor and I ran to call 9-1-1.

Among the pedestrians hit: Two students walking to William McKinley Junior High School, a sixth grader and an eighth grader. The younger boy reportedly lost a foot, which was apparently severed at the scene. The eighth-grader sustained a head injury.

All of the victims were taken to Lutheran Medical Center where three remain in critical condition, three in stable. Among those is the driver of the black pickup truck involved in the crash, Miguel Rivera. Rivera may be released from the hospital Wednesday night.

The man behind the wheel of that white Lexus who police say caused the accident is being held at the 68th Precinct. The man, who authorities say is from Alexandria, Virginia faces several charges, including driving while intoxicated.

Investigators say the accident was captured on videotape by a security camera at a nearby store. One police source tells us the scenes captured on that security video shows them exactly what happened.

Get more News »