Nine people enjoying a July 4 barbecue in a Lower Manhattan park were injured when the driver of a pickup truck rammed through a fence and mowed them down, leaving two dead, authorities said.
According to NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey, the terrifying incident unfolded at around 8:55 p.m. Thursday night inside of the Corlears Hook Park near Water Street and Cherry Street when a pickup truck ran over a crowd of New Yorkers enjoying the holiday inside the greenspace after it jumped the curb and rammed through the fencing.
“As these families were enjoying the 4th of July celebration, a gray pickup truck Ford f150 driving at a high rate of speed on Water Street eastbound ran through the intersection of Water Street and Cherry Street, through the stop sign, up onto the sidewalk,” Maddrey said. “It struck people who were out enjoying the evening.”
FDNY Chief Michael Meyers confirmed that two people died as a result of the collision while two more were left in critical condition.
Bystanders embraced in shock and horror as they looked on in horror at the crash scene.
“They were barbecuing, everyone was barbecuing— there were kids here,” local Evelyn Carbonell said. “People pulled the driver out. It’s horrible.”
Eyewitnesses also stated that locals took matters into their own hands, pulling the driver from the truck and attacking him until police arrived, something Chief Maddrey confirmed. NYPD brass announced that, while the investigation remains ongoing, they do not believe the crash to be an act of terror but the result of a driver who got behind the wheel drunk.
“Officers who arrived on the scene did smell some alcohol,” Maddrey said. “Right now we do not feel this is a terrorism related event. We do believe alcohol played a role in this.”
Mayor Eric Adams also visited the scene of the crash and lamented the loss of life.
This story was updated at 12:15 a.m.
