Lexus RX with braking problems?
A woman was pinned by an out-of-control SUV as she pushed her 6-month-old son in a stroller on a Queens sidewalk Tuesday, witnesses and officials said.
The Lexus RX 350 jumped the curb on Broadway in Astoria about 1:55 p.m. and shot down the sidewalk like a pinball, witnesses said.
It blazed a trail of destruction for about half a block before it mowed the woman down from behind - sending her son and the stroller hurtling through the air.
The boy landed on the sidewalk. Witnesses said he was crying, but didn't appear seriously hurt.
His mother was trapped underneath the Lexus, which finally stopped when it bashed into coin-operated rocking-horse rides for children that were bolted to the sidewalk outside of a pizza shop.
"My baby!" the woman screamed from underneath the Lexus, witnesses said. "My baby!"
She was bleeding from cuts to her face. Some of her teeth had been knocked out, the witnesses said.
Firefighters freed her by placing airbags underneath the Lexus and inflating them, lifting the vehicle's front end enough to reach her, an FDNY source said.
The NYPD deployed members of its Emergency Service Unit to help with the rescue.
The mother, whose identity was not immediately known, was taken by ambulance to Elmhurst Hospital Center, cops and the Fire Department source said. She's expected to survive, the sources said.
Renziye Ayhan, 51, who owns the pizza shop, which is near the corner of 37th St., said she gave the little boy water and bread.
"The baby was crying," she said. "It was only scared - thank God. A lady police officer picked him up and cradled him."
Police officers took the 73-year-old driver into the pizza place and interviewed him.
"He told the police when they brought him inside that he tried to hit the brakes and it didn't work," the pizza shop owner said.
The man refused medical attention, but he was taken to the hospital as a precaution. Police sources said he has not been charged or given a summons.
"It's just an accident," one of the police sources said.
Julio Rodriguez, 58, owns a hardware store just down the street from the pizza shop. He said he heard a loud noise, looked up and saw the Lexus barreling down the sidewalk, going about 40 mph.
He said it took out a parking meter and crashed into a pole that holds up his store's metal rolldown gate. The gate crashed to the sidewalk.
The Lexus ricocheted off the storefront and continued down the sidewalk. It smashed through an electrical box that controls the intersection of Broadway and 37th St.
The hybrid SUV then shot through the crosswalk and raced down the sidewalk of the next block, where the woman was walking near the corner.
Rodriguez noted that the accident happened shortly before the neighborhood schools dismissed students.
"It was amazing he didn't take anyone else out," Rodriguez said.
The Lexus RX 350 jumped the curb on Broadway in Astoria about 1:55 p.m. and shot down the sidewalk like a pinball, witnesses said.
It blazed a trail of destruction for about half a block before it mowed the woman down from behind - sending her son and the stroller hurtling through the air.
The boy landed on the sidewalk. Witnesses said he was crying, but didn't appear seriously hurt.
His mother was trapped underneath the Lexus, which finally stopped when it bashed into coin-operated rocking-horse rides for children that were bolted to the sidewalk outside of a pizza shop.
"My baby!" the woman screamed from underneath the Lexus, witnesses said. "My baby!"
She was bleeding from cuts to her face. Some of her teeth had been knocked out, the witnesses said.
Firefighters freed her by placing airbags underneath the Lexus and inflating them, lifting the vehicle's front end enough to reach her, an FDNY source said.
The NYPD deployed members of its Emergency Service Unit to help with the rescue.
The mother, whose identity was not immediately known, was taken by ambulance to Elmhurst Hospital Center, cops and the Fire Department source said. She's expected to survive, the sources said.
Renziye Ayhan, 51, who owns the pizza shop, which is near the corner of 37th St., said she gave the little boy water and bread.
"The baby was crying," she said. "It was only scared - thank God. A lady police officer picked him up and cradled him."
Police officers took the 73-year-old driver into the pizza place and interviewed him.
"He told the police when they brought him inside that he tried to hit the brakes and it didn't work," the pizza shop owner said.
The man refused medical attention, but he was taken to the hospital as a precaution. Police sources said he has not been charged or given a summons.
"It's just an accident," one of the police sources said.
Julio Rodriguez, 58, owns a hardware store just down the street from the pizza shop. He said he heard a loud noise, looked up and saw the Lexus barreling down the sidewalk, going about 40 mph.
He said it took out a parking meter and crashed into a pole that holds up his store's metal rolldown gate. The gate crashed to the sidewalk.
The Lexus ricocheted off the storefront and continued down the sidewalk. It smashed through an electrical box that controls the intersection of Broadway and 37th St.
The hybrid SUV then shot through the crosswalk and raced down the sidewalk of the next block, where the woman was walking near the corner.
Rodriguez noted that the accident happened shortly before the neighborhood schools dismissed students.
"It was amazing he didn't take anyone else out," Rodriguez said.


Guest
Posts: n/a
I'm getting tired of idiots who can't drive and the media who doesn't give a crap about facts.
Also its not a hybrid, the front bumper with the foglights clearly shows its a RX 350. The author states its a RX 350 then states its a hybrid. WTF.
So much for facts.
Also its not a hybrid, the front bumper with the foglights clearly shows its a RX 350. The author states its a RX 350 then states its a hybrid. WTF.
So much for facts.
If you google map the intersection (Broadway and 37th St, Astoria), you'll get an idea of how much traffic there is in the area. There are tons of stores which result in tons of trucks double parking with foot traffic to match.
Accidents are frequent.
Accidents are frequent.
The hybrid SUV
"He told the police when they brought him inside that he tried to hit the brakes and it didn't work," the pizza shop owner said.
Of course, the fact that this guy was 73 meant that his reactions...and judgement....maybe weren't quite up to snuff. Some older people can drive perfectly safely......others can't.
Last edited by mmarshall; Nov 17, 2010 at 09:04 AM.
Trending Topics
Very simple. Shift into neutral and step on the emergency-parking brake (in the RX, I think it is pedal-operated with the left-foot). The emergency-brake is (usually) cable-operated and cannot fail electronically.
Of course, the fact that this guy was 73 meant that his reactions...and judgement....maybe weren't quite up to snuff. Some older people can drive perfectly safely......others can't.
Of course, the fact that this guy was 73 meant that his reactions...and judgement....maybe weren't quite up to snuff. Some older people can drive perfectly safely......others can't.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
PERRYinLA
Car Chat
5
Apr 6, 2004 09:15 PM
















