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Two women were killed and several other people were injured after an elderly driver allegedly ran through an intersection in New York City, causing a chain-reaction crash
The driver of a Mercedes-Benz C300, identified as an 81-year-old man, allegedly plowed through the intersection of Allerton Avenue and Holland Avenue in the Bronx
Angel Johnson, 39, and Robin Kennedy, 57, were identified as the fatal victims
Two women were killed and several other people were injured after an elderly driver allegedly ran through an intersection in New York City, striking several pedestrians before slamming into three cars, causing a chain-reaction crash.
A New York Police Department (NYPD) spokesperson confirmed to PEOPLE that officers first received a 911 call about the crash at around 2:15 p.m. local time on Friday, Oct. 9, after the driver of a Mercedes-Benz C300, identified as an 81-year-old man, allegedly plowed through the intersection of Allerton Avenue and Holland Avenue in the Bronx.
At the scene, police found four pedestrians with various injuries, three of whom were “unconscious and unresponsive with trauma to the head and body.”
The man allegedly hit a 39-year-old woman walking through the eastern crosswalk, ran a steady red light and then struck a 57-year-old woman, a 60-year-old woman and an 84-year-old woman in the western crosswalk.
The Mercedes then collided with three other cars, one of which smashed into another nearby vehicle.
Emergency medical personnel who were called to the scene took a total of nine people to Jacobi Medical Center.
Two of the pedestrians — identified by police as 39-year-old Angel Johnson and 57-year-old Robin Kennedy, both from the Bronx — were pronounced dead at the hospital.
Witnesses told local outlets ABC7 NY and CBS New York that several other pedestrians were hit as a result of the cars being rear-ended.
“I saw multiple people get hit by a car, and it was horrific,” one eyewitness told CBS.
According to police, the 84-year-old pedestrian is still in critical condition, and the 60-year-old pedestrian is in stable condition.
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The 81-year-old male driver and his 84-year-old female passenger are in stable condition. The 55-year-old male, 61-year-old female and 71-year-old female vehicle operators are in stable condition.
One local resident who spoke to ABC, Abdul Titumir, remembered Johnson as a longtime friend who was known for being a friendly face in their neighborhood.
“She’d always walk around the neighborhood, say hello to everybody all the time. So friendly,” said Titumir, who has worked at a store on the intersection of Allerton and Holland for more than 30 years. “And she was always talking to me because passing through.”
The collision also caused several nearby businesses’ windows to be blown out. One man who worked nearby told ABC that the incident was “traumatizing.”
“Everybody was screaming — the past 35 years I been in the avenue, I never seen like that,” he said.
The NYPD said no arrests have been made, and the investigation by the NYPD Highway District’s Collision Investigation Squad remains ongoing.
Read the original article on People