Three people died and seven others were injured after a suspected drunk driver plowed his vehicle into a park on New York’s Lower East Side, police said Thursday night.
The 44-year-old driver, a New Jersey man, was driving the gray Ford F-150 when he struck several pedestrians in the park at the intersection of Water and Jackson streets at 8:53 p.m. Thursday night, police said.
The driver was traveling eastbound on Water Street when he ran a stop sign, jumped the curb and crashed into Corlears Hook Park. The van was on top of four of the victims when authorities arrived. Good Samaritans restrained the driver until police arrived.
New York firefighters arrived on the scene within three minutes and found four victims pinned under a gray Ford F-150 pickup truck, authorities said.
According to authorities, the FDNY worked alongside the NYPD’s Emergency Services Unit to remove patients from under the vehicle.
Two women were pronounced dead at Bellevue Hospital. A man was pronounced dead at Lower Manhattan Presbyterian Hospital in New York City.
The 59-year-old woman and the 38-year-old man appear to be related. The other woman appears to be in her forties.
Among those hospitalized were a mother and her two young children, police said.
First responders smelled alcohol at the scene, police said. Tests are being conducted to determine if the driver was impaired at the time of the incident, they added.
The driver is in custody and charges are pending. He is suspected of being intoxicated at the time of the incident.
Authorities said no terrorist act is suspected at this time, although the investigation is ongoing.
News Source : abcnews.go.com
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