By , Staff Reporter of the Sun | April 11, 2008
An out of control car driven by a man with a suspended license jumped a curb and hit two people, pinning one to the steps of the state Supreme Court building in Lower Manhattan today, authorities and witnesses said.
Six people were injured in the accident, including a man who was thrown about 15 feet before being slammed against the courthouse stairs and sustaining a serious leg injury, authorities and witnesses said.
The tan 1999 Nissan sedan lost control at about 11 a.m. as it was approaching the courthouse at 60 Centre St. and accelerated toward the sidewalk, witnesses said. It slammed into a fire hydrant before bowling through an enclosed breakfast cart, defenestrating its operator, authorities and witnesses said.
The vehicle then hit the male victim and a female victim before stopping on the courthouse stairs. At least two other people jumped out of the path of the car, witnesses said.
While police are charging the driver, a 33-year-old male who was not identified, for driving with a suspended license, it is unclear what triggered the incident. The suspension was a result of the man’s failure to answer to summonses, police said.
Gloria Atkinson and her son Anthony were in line to get coffee from the breakfast cart when they noticed the car coming straight for them, they said. Mr. Atkinson, 22, said he saw what seemed like flashing lights before grabbing his mother’s arm and pulling her out of the way.
“I would have gotten hit,” Ms. Atkinson said.
Court police officers rushed to the aid of the victims. The male victim, 33, who was pinned to the stairs by the vehicle appeared to sustain the worst injuries, authorities said.
“He was in pretty bad shape,” a court officer who aided the victims, Robert Maio, said.
The breakfast cart vendor, a 26-year-old who was not identified, suffered a broken nose and cuts to the face when he was thrown to the street, witnesses said.
“He had a badly broken nose. I just kept giving him ice,” a hotdog vendor who was operating his cart steps away from the accident, Tony Poulis, said. He was later rushed St. Vincent’s Hospital, police said.
Two female victims sustained injuries, one whose thigh was wounded after being struck by the vehicle, and another who was injured escaping the car’s path, police said.
Mr. Maio, the court police officer who witnessed the accident, said the car didn’t appear to be speeding until it lost control and accelerated towards the sidewalk.
The driver of the car and his only passenger, a 45-year-old female, were also injured in the accident, police said.
One witness, Penny Saintio, a nurse’s assistant, said the driver of the vehicle had foam pouring from his mouth as he exited the vehicle.
