A motorist barreled through a busy intersection in New York City’s eastern Bronx on Friday, striking pedestrians and triggering a chain-reaction crash involving several vehicles, leaving one person dead and nine injured, according to authorities and media reports.
The collision occurred shortly after 2pm in the Bronx’s Allerton neighborhood. The driver at the center of the crash reportedly said he was trying to beat a traffic light.
Victims and Response
Sources told the New York Post that four women, ranging in age from 50 to 60, were walking through a crosswalk when the Mercedes struck them. The victims were transported to Jacobi Medical Center, where one woman was pronounced dead. Two others were reported to be in critical condition, while the fourth was expected to survive, according to the Post’s sources.
The New York Fire Department (FDNY) said emergency medical crews treated nine people in the aftermath of the crash, according to the local outlet News 12.
Crash Details
Surveillance footage obtained by News 12 captured a white Mercedes-Benz hurtling through the intersection, striking a group of pedestrians in the crosswalk before crashing into multiple vehicles waiting at a traffic light. According to the NYPD’s preliminary findings, the Mercedes rear-ended two vehicles with such force that both cars were pushed into two additional vehicles.
The driver, who suffered minor injuries and remained conscious and alert, reportedly told a witness that he had been attempting to beat the traffic light, the Post said.
