Latest news with #ElmhurstHospitalCenter
New York Post
4 days ago
- New York Post
Two NYC food-truck customers, elderly driver killed in tragic caught-on-video horror
Two food-truck customers and an 84-year-old driver were killed when the senior plowed his car into them in a horrific Tuesday morning scene in Queens, according to cops and startling surveillance footage. 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.'
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Yahoo
FDNY terminates Michael Pena, firefighter busted in fatal booze-fueled Queens crash
The FDNY has fired a 28-year-old firefighter facing vehicular manslaughter charges for killing a LaGuardia Airport worker in a booze and drug-fueled Queens crash last month, the Daily News has learned. Fire Commissioner Robert Tucker took swift action and terminated Firefighter Michael Pena once the troubled smoke eater returned to work after being suspended for 28 days without pay for the Feb. 26 crash, FDNY officials confirmed. Victim Justin Diaz, 23, was on his way to his airport baggage handling job about 4:15 a.m. when a Mercedes-Benz driven by Pena traveling 83 mph in a 25 mph zone plowed into the driver's side of his BMW, Queens prosecutors say. Diaz, who was just a couple of blocks from home, died after being rushed by medics to Elmhurst Hospital Center. Police charged Pea with vehicular manslaughter, DWI, and refusing to take a breath test. His license was suspended after his arraignment. After a warrant was issued to draw Pena's blood, investigators said he was also high on both cocaine and marijuana. His blood-alcohol content tested at 0.156%, nearly twice the legal threshold of 0.08, prosecutors say. At his arraignment, Queens Criminal Court Judge Anthony Battisti set Pena's cash bail at $50,000 or $100,000 bond, which the firefighter posted — a turn of events that upset the victim's family. He's expected to face the criminal charges in a few weeks. His attorney, David Cohen, declined to comment when reached Friday about the firefighter's termination. Officials said Pena was a probationary firefighter and had been with the FDNY for less than a year. Because he was a probationary firefighter Tucker didn't need to wait until a verdict was reached in the case to fire him. Pena joined the department on March 24, 2024, and was assigned to Engine 304 in Queens Village when he was arrested. Prosecutors said Pena was driving nearly 60 mph above the speed limit after a night of drinking at a bar on Bell Blvd. in Bayside, Queens. Surveillance footage from the bar showed him having his first drink around 6 p.m. — nearly 11 hours before the crash. Surveillance footage obtained by The News shows Diaz behind the wheel of his BMW driving north on 107th St. As he approaches Northern Blvd., the sound of a fast-moving car grows louder. Seconds later, the speeding Mercedes comes into the frame and plows into the driver's side of the BMW. The two cars then spin out of control toward 108th St., where the wrecked BMW crashes into a parked Toyota Sienna minivan. The victim had the right-of-way, and Pena blasted through a steady red light, prosecutors say. Two passengers in the firefighter's Mercedes, both also 28-year-old men, were taken to Elmhurst Hospital Center and are expected to recover.
