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Suspected drunk driver fatally strikes man with car in Corona: NYPD

By Sarina Trangle

An unidentified man was struck and killed by a suspected drunk driver while crossing Roosevelt Avenue near 92nd Street early Saturday morning, the NYPD said.

The Police Department said officers were called to the Corona intersection at about 4:30 a.m., where an adult man was found and then pronounced dead at the scene.

The unidentified victim was hit by a red Ford Focus headed east on Roosevelt avenue, police said. The 42-year-old driver, who police believe had been drinking, then veered into oncoming traffic and crashed into an empty, parked car, according to the NYPD.

Police said the male driver and the 35-year-old woman in the passenger’s seat were brought to Elmhurst General Hospital in stable condition.

By Saturday afternoon, the NYPD said the woman had been released from the hospital and the driver was in police custody, with charges pending.

A few Roosevelt Avenue shop owners and workers said they found the usually bustling corridor blocked off by police when they came in Saturday morning.

Ahmed Salama said he saw the victim’s body lying in the middle of the street, sprawled across both lanes, at 9 a.m.

“When we came, the examiner was looking at the body,” he said.

A dark car roped off by police appeared to have been swiped on the side, according to Salama.

Jimmy Zhang said he drove into work at around 9:45 a.m., but found a stretch of Roosevelt Avenue roped off with yellow police tape.

“I went to find parking and when I came back, they were all gone,” he said.

By noon, little evidence of the accident remained, except for a stray piece of police tape and a votive candle.

Reach reporter Sarina Trangle at 718-260-4546 or by e-mail at [email protected].