A speeding Corvette slammed into a Mercedes SUV and struck a pedestrian in Upper Manhattan early Thursday, sending the SUV careening into a storefront and renewing calls from local leaders for more traffic safety measures.
Police said 27-year-old Eric Torres was driving the Corvette around 6:30 a.m. near Sherman Avenue and West 204th Street when he crashed into the SUV and then hit the pedestrian.
Torres was arrested and charged with reckless endangerment, reckless driving and driving without a license.
The pedestrian, Torres and his passenger were all taken to the hospital and were in stable condition.
Surveillance video from a nearby business shows the Corvette striking the Mercedes, sending the SUV into a storefront. The SUV landed on its side as people inside tried to escape through the windshield.
About a minute later, good Samaritans rushed over to help rescue people trapped inside the vehicle.
Police said the driver of the SUV fled the scene.
Neighbors said crashes and dangerous driving are not unusual at the intersection. They said drivers frequently perform donuts in the area, sometimes late at night.
“That’s usual stuff, doing donuts, but speeding at this time, it was crazy,” said Eric Cruz, who lives nearby.
Assembly Member Manny De Los Santos said he is frustrated by the recurring speeding and racing in the area, particularly because schools are nearby.
“First of all, it’s very frustrating. If you see right in front of me, there’s a school. There’s another school right down the block,” De Los Santos said. “And it seems like every summer we see the same, same, same old. It’s the same folks that come from the district, out of the district, to speed race here.”
De Los Santos said he has repeatedly asked the city and the Department of Transportation to install additional speed cameras and speed bumps along Sherman Avenue.
“We’re asking the DOT, we’re asking the city to take action in this community because this is not the first, second or third time, and it will continue to happen unless we take action,” De Los Santos said.
He also wants the city to study what additional safety measures could be installed to crack down on speeding.
NY1 reached out to the Department of Transportation for comment.