A 58-year-old Brooklyn building porter is in extremely critical condition after a driver lost control of her SUV, causing it to crash into the man as he was entering a service entrance of the co-op where he worked, pinning him against a crushed door, police say.
The porter, not yet identified, was rushed to Brookdale University Medical Center in very critical condition. The driver the 2014 Toyota Highlander Limited was also rushed to the same hospital, where she was being treated for multiple broken bones, but in stable condition.
The crash occurred at about 3:45 p.m. when witnesses say the 58-year-old driver had just taken her vehicle out of a driveway directly across the street from the other driveway, closed the gate and then got into the vehicle. At that point, witnesses say the vehicle sped across the lanes of traffic, down the ramp of 1415 Linden Blvd, off Hegeman Avenue in the Earl Jimerson Co-Op in Brownsville, striking the porter pulling a green handcart as he was leaving a service door where he was going to end his day of work.
Police from the 73rd Precinct and firefighters found the man crushed between the vehicle and door of the service room, the door broken off its hinges and the bumper of the car torn off. Rescuers performed CPR on the victim before transporting him to the hospital.
Investigators now say it appears the woman had a ‘medical episode’ at the wheel after coming out of the driveway, crossed two lanes of traffic just missing oncoming cars, then proceeded into the service entrance where the vehicle struck the porter exiting the service entrance with the cart. Police say it appears the woman was unconscious as they car was crossing the roadway to the service entrance.
Dorothy McNeill, a resident who lives in the co-op for eight years, said she has never seen anything like this in her development.
“If it’s not one thing it’s another these days, you have to be careful with these cars and their brakes – you to be totally alert,” said Dorothy McNeill.
Police Highway 2 investigators were on the scene shortly afterward investigating the cause of the crash. No charges are being considered at this time pending further investigation.
