By Joe Anuta
An SUV attempting to pull into a parking space in Maspeth Thursday morning plowed into a group of middle-school students walking along the sidewalk, the NYPD said.
Video surveillance footage viewed by TimesLedger Newspapers showed the horrifying scene unfold at 7:48 a.m.
As hoards of young students walk by on the sidewalk along Grand Street, a silver SUV is seen slowly pulling forward into an open parking space in front of a deli on the corner of 71st Street. As it nears the curb, instead of slowing down, it suddenly speeds up as three girls walk into the frame.
The SUV hits one of the girls so hard she is knocked out of her shoes as the vehicle rams into one of the deli walls.
A single foot, now wearing only a sock, is seen in the bottom of the frame and her shocked friends come to her aid. It was unclear from the footage how many were hit, but the NYPD put the number at three girls and two boys who were on their way to IS 73. One of the victims was 12 and the others were 13 years old, the city Department of Education said.
One bystander told the New York Post he and about 10 people rushed over to lift the car off the victims.
“Like 10 other guys did their best to try to lift the car up as much as we could to get to the girls,” said David Foubister.
According to police, all the children were taken to Elmhurst Hospital Center and were listed in stable condition.
Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott visited the students at the medical center and called the principal at the school, the DOE said.
The 40-year-old motorist stayed at the scene and was cooperating with the investigation, the NYPD said.
Neighbor Maria Tufano was in her apartment and heard lots of screaming before looking out the window.
“There were enormous amounts of FDNY and NYPD there,” she said.
Tufano had been hit at the intersection in June and spent several months in the hospital, she said.
“There’s a problem on that corner,” she said.
