BREAKING: Several struck, seriously injured when minivan mounts curb in Chinatown pic.twitter.com/bOm8xVnc4s
— Myles Miller (@MylesMill) November 27, 2018
A minivan driver allegedly struck a group of pedestrians Monday evening in Manhattan’s Chinatown, killing Queens resident Chun Deng Zhang and injuring six others, reports NBC New York.
The NYPD said that 70-year-old driver Henry Herman lost control while trying to park near Canal and Forsyth Street, causing the minivan to jump the busy sidewalk. While in reverse, the car smashed two fruit carts and struck several victims, reports The New York Times.
Two were critically injured and four others had non-life threatening injuries. According to police, Herman and a passenger were among the injured but refused medical attention.
Police officials said Herman claimed he thought he was in park and hit the gas pedal. Herman stayed at the scene. There is no evidence that his actions were deliberate.
He was arrested Monday night on charges of failure to yield to pedestrians and failure to exercise due care. The DMV said Herman is licensed and there are no crashes or driving convictions on his record.
People who knew Zhang described him as a family man.
“Every day he’s always working on this house,” said neighbor John Agudelo. “The property value went up in this neighborhood because of him.”
Terrible car crash on Canal St has killed 1 pedestrian and injured 6 more. A full NYPD investigation is underway. We cannot accept loss of life on our streets as inevitable. We will continue working harder every day to reach #VisionZero.
— Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) November 27, 2018
AsAmNews has Asian America in its heart. We’re an all-volunteer effort of dedicated staff and interns. Check out our Twitter feed and Facebook page for more content. Please consider interning, joining our staff or submitting a story.
