Two NYC food-truck customers, elderly driver killed in tragic caught-on-video horror
The elderly motorist was driving his light-colored 2010 Toyota Corolla north on 42nd Street at 19th Avenue in Astoria when he whizzed through the intersection and careened straight into the food truck as the two men, ages 42 and 70, were ordered from it, according to police and the video.
After the initial impact, the out-of-control driver also spun around and collided with a Volvo sedan driven by a 42-year-old man, cops said. The Volvo driver was unhurt.
4 An 84-year-old driver struck a food truck at 42nd Street and 19th Avenue in Astoria on Tuesday morning, killing himself and two customers, cops said.
James Keivom
'All of a sudden I hear loud screeching from tires and like, a really loud engine roar sounded like it was, like, right on top of me,' shaken food-truck worker Giancarlo Caruso told The Post.
'Someone screamed really loudly, and I just had stepped back, like right up to the sidewalk,' he said, adding he was saved 'by a millimeter or a centimeter' as he stood next to one of the fatal victims and 'felt the wind hit my leg.
'I was parked right off the sidewalk, and as soon as I heard that scream and the screeching, I stepped back, and a vehicle going about 60 miles an hour mauled two of the customers that were with me,' Caruso said.
'They were just laid out and lifeless,' he said of the tragic victims. 'It happened so fast. It just, it was almost like God removed me from the scene.'
The younger food-truck patron was pronounced dead at the scene, cops said.
4 The grisly crash wiped out several vehicles.
Peter Gerber
The older customer as well as the elderly driver were taken to the Elmhurst Hospital Center, where they succumbed to their injuries, cops said.
4 The elderly driver succumbed to his injuries at a local hospital after the crash.
Obtained by the NY Post
The two fatal victims were not immediately identified, pending family notification.
Francisco Neto, owner of a nearby doggie daycare, said he knew one of the victims for his work at a tire shop near the scene.
'Very nice guy,' Neto said. 'He helped us a lot with with the cars here, with the tires. He just replaced all four tires of my car the other day. It's sad.
4 The out-of-control driver spun around after hitting the food truck and collided with a Volvo sedan.
Peter Gerber
'This is a busy street for this area, extremely busy,' he added. 'You have the tire shop, the mechanic, the motorcycle place. So it gets busy, but never anything like this.'
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