MIDTOWN, Manhattan (WABC) — A passenger was killed and the driver was arrested after a car crashed into scaffolding in Midtown Manhattan early Wednesday.
The vehicle, a Tesla, first struck scaffolding outside 315 Madison Ave. just before 3 a.m., then continued east along East 42nd Street and hit a mailbox and MTA bus stop pole before coming to rest at the intersection of Second Avenue.
The passenger was taken to the hospital where she was pronounced dead. She was later identified as 27-year-old Elise Suomi of Harlem, a mother of a 3-month-old baby.
The driver, 27-year-old Alejandra Paharsingh of Westbury, Connecticut, was taken to the hospital and was said to be injured but stable.
The two women were friends from high school.
Paharsingh was arrested on charges of vehicular manslaughter, leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death and driving while impaired.
“She wasn’t obeying the commands, one officer was trying to save the life of the passenger, and when doing that she bolted,” said good Samaritan Greg Huff.
Huff was on a Citi Bike and saw the car lose control, so he followed them.
“I’m behind a Tesla and the Tesla accelerated right into the scaffolding. High rate of speed. If you look at the Tesla, there’s obviously some severe damage,” Huff said. “She had had her hazards on and even at the light there making some strange behavior like doing this kind of stuff out the window so I can see that’s not a normal situation.”
Those who knew Suomi are grieving on Wednesday and they say she was a beautiful soul, a caring person training to be a home health aide and a loving new mother.
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