GRAMERCY PARK, Manhattan (WABC) — A 26-year-old driver has been charged with manslaughter, DWI and related offenses after plowing into a crowd in Manhattan, killing one pedestrian and leaving three others hospitalized.
The gray Hyundai Sonata was traveling north on Third Avenue shortly before 8 p.m. Sunday near 21st Street.
An eyewitness said the sound of the sedan spinning, hitting several pedestrians and crashing into a kiosk “sounded like a grenade going off.”
Police said Mahbub Ali, 26, of Queens, was intoxicated and may have been trying to prevent a bicyclist from crashing his car into a group of people.
A 23-year-old pedestrian was pronounced dead at Bellevue Hospital.
His name was withheld pending family notification.
A 26-year-old pedestrian remains hospitalized in critical condition with a broken leg, and a 21-year-old pedestrian is in stable condition after suffering a laceration to his left leg.
An 18-year-old cyclist who was hit and a 25-year-old woman who was a passenger in the Hyundai were taken to hospital.
The 18-year-old suffered injuries to her leg and back, while the 25-year-old broke her right leg.
One of the victims is a migrant from a shelter around the corner.
Migrants told Eyewitness News reporter CeFaan Kim that they often meet around the corner, so they can use the city’s free Wi-Fi hotspot to stay in touch with family back home.
“This is an area where many of the migrants stay at the Grammercy Training Academy,” said resident George Colli. “They’re shoulder to shoulder, head to toe there. They’re out.”
Ali was not injured and was arrested immediately after the accident.
He has been charged with involuntary manslaughter, vehicular homicide, assault and drunken driving.
Ali appeared stoic as police officers led him from the 13th Precinct in Gramercy Park on Monday night before taking him to central booking.
The crash happened next to the former NYPD Police Academy, which the city has been using to house asylum seekers.
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