By Naeisha Rose
Aldith Small, a Hollis woman who survived a car accident in St. Albans, is counting her blessings and expressed gratitude to the woman who guided her out of her flipped car that had been struck by another vehicle more than a week ago.
“We survived the accident by the mercy of God,” said Small, who was in the vehicle with her younger sister, Edith McKoy. “I thought the car would blow up or that my seat belt would get stuck.”
On Oct. 21, at 10:30 a.m., Small, 67, and McKoy, 52, were headed to church on Long Island when, at the intersection of Murdock Avenue and 204 Street, a 31-year-old male in a 2012 Hyundai collided into her car, also a 2012 Hyundai.
“On impact, the car started to spin up in the air and I felt it go up and it fell,” said Small. “That seat belt was so important. It kept us in place. We would have been in the street. I would have been dead.”
Marie Slaughter, a veteran correction officer from Hollis, saw the incident take place while in her Jeep with her daughter Antoinette, 13, who had called the police.
Slaughter, who was headed to a different church in Cambria Heights, immediately started praying for the victims and went to the flipped car to help guide Small out of the vehicle, and 67-year-old grabbed her left hand.
“She was a good Samaritan,” said Small. “She was very helpful. She was the first person there. She was praying when she was helping us out.”
Small hopes that something is done at that intersection soon to help prevent accidents like this.
“Something needs to be done on that street where people are speeding,” said Small. “ I’m leery about going down that street. People treat it like a main street and are barreling down the road.”
Since the accident, she said she has had aches and pain all over her body and has to take painkillers. She said she needed to get an X-ray to make sure that she didn’t have any permanent head trauma.
Her younger sister fared worse in the accident, according to Small.
“Her right shoulder was black and blue and it got squeezed, according to the doctor,” Small said. “I didn’t even know how we were going to come out. It was like a cocoon.”
After Slaughter helped Small out of a vehicle, a nearby homeowner assisted McKoy and brought out chairs for the sisters to sit until EMS arrived, according to the correction officer.
The two sisters and the 31-year-old driver were brought to North Shore University to be treated for nonlife-threatening injuries, according to the NYPD.
Reach reporter Naeisha Rose by e-mail at nrose
