Hunt hit-and-run driver

“We need people who were there to come forward.”
Cops are asking for the public’s help in their search for the driver of a black Nissan Altima that mowed down two pre-teen schoolgirls in Ozone Park on Wednesday, September 17, leaving one in critical condition with “massive head injuries.”
Nisha Chowdhury, 12, and an unnamed 11-year-old friend had been dropped off by Raj Chowdhury in front of the Getty station on Rockaway Boulevard and 99th Street at about 7:45 a.m. that morning, according to police.
“Bystanders ran to the aid of the girls,” said a police source in the 106th Precinct. “But so far, nobody who was driving any of the cars either westbound, or behind the hit-and-run driver has called us,” the source explained.
“Somebody had to see something and they should come forward - this poor kid will never be the same,” the cop said.
Chowdhury’s father Raj reportedly said he had dropped off the girls, as he did every Wednesday, on their way to I.S. 137, which is halfway down the block, between 98th and 99th Streets.
When the school was built, 99th Street was extended to the school, ending in a large turn-around, big enough to allow city busses (then operated by Green Bus Lines) to drop students off safely at the entrance and then make their way back out to Rockaway Boulevard.
“For some reason, the bus drivers aren’t doing it anymore. Instead, they’re dropping the kids off on the boulevard, where they are more at risk,” the source said.
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), which operates city busses, told The Courier that, “There’s no dedicated Q7 bus route for the school in the morning. In the afternoon, we have ‘spotted service’ busses pick up children in front of the school, because the volume of students dismissed at one time would overwhelm the scheduled service.”
When informed that the presence of students on Rockaway Boulevard that morning may enticed the girls to their doom, the spokesperson said, “We’re always evaluating our service,” although they noted the victims did not use the bus.
The incident was captured on video by a security camera at the gas station. The girls can be seen darting across the street in the middle of the block, between westbound vehicles that had begun moving after being stopped.
In the chilling video, they make it halfway across the eastbound lanes, when they are mowed down by the Altima, which continues out of view. One girl is seen staggering away, then doubling over in pain.
According to reports, there was a school crossing guard assigned to the intersection of Rockaway Boulevard and 98th Street. The guard was about to go on duty at the crossing, which the girls neglected to use, and was one of the first to help the girls.
The distraught father said he had an impulse to return to the scene, and was staggered by the news. “My mind said something,” Chowdhury said. “I came back and I saw my daughter lying there.”
He said he always insisted that the girls cross at the crosswalk.
On this day however, they reportedly spied friends across the street, and made the fateful dash, darting out from behind a city bus into the path of the fast-moving Altima.
“He just kept going,” said Medy Shamillo, a station manager.
According to State Senator Serphin Maltese, Shamillo told him the car braked momentarily, and then sped away.
“He told me that there’s another video in police custody, that hasn’t been shown on TV,” Maltese said.
The police source confirmed to The Courier that a second camera at the gas station captured the scene. Other traffic and security cameras in the vicinity also showed the vehicle as it sped away.
“The tapes are being computer-enhanced,” the source said, adding, “There’s a good chance we will be apprehending the driver.”
Nevertheless, the source expressed hope that more witnesses would come forward, “And help us catch this [person.]”
Maltese, a retired detective with the District Attorney’s office, was in the neighborhood participating in a graffiti clean-up in Ozone Park on Friday, September 19, when he decided to observe the area for himself.
“I have been in touch with Queens [Department of Transportation] Commissioner Maura McCarthy to see what can be done to calm traffic along this stretch of road,” Maltese said.
“Considering that there’s a middle school here and a high school [John Adams] a few blocks down, they may have to revisit this area,” he suggested.
The girls were within feet of a painted warning of “SCHOOL X-ING” across the lanes when they were mowed down.
The vehicle, described by police as a 2007 or 2008 Nissan Altima, suffered some damage on the driver’s side; the side-view mirror was sheared off and recovered by police.
Anyone with information is being asked to call toll-free, 877-577-TIPS (8477).