2 Hurt As Car Crashes Into Queens Restaurant
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Two pedestrians suffered broken legs after a car slammed into a restaurant in Queens.
It happened around 12:30 a.m. Tuesday on Springfield Boulevard in Queens Village.
Police said the car jumped the curb and struck two men before crashing into the Crown Fried Chicken restaurant. The driver then fled on foot, police said.
Some nearby residents were concerned that the driver was still on the loose, CBS2's Diane Macedo reported.
"They should take responsibility for what they have done and should stay on the scene until cops get here, and take responsibility because there is life at stake there," one woman said. "It could happen to anybody."
Neighbors said they didn't see what happened, but they heard it.
"There was a loud sound," one man said. "You heard the screech of a car and a boom, so you know it was a crash of some kind. But then maybe a few minutes later, you heard the sirens from a police car and what sounded like an ambulance."
The man who owns the deli next door said he also felt the crash.
"About 12:30, I hear the car. You know, the tire -- it was a lot of noise, it looked like high speed, something," said Ahmed Alshohatee. "And after like seconds, I hear the building shaking and I hear next door the car going inside."
Surveillance video shows the moments leading up to the crash. The white Infiniti was traveling westbound on Hempstead Avenue before cutting right across the intersection onto Springfield.
Debris from the crash and tire tracks were still visible at the scene Tuesday morning.
Sam Chaudhary was surprised to see the devastation when he arrived to work at the restaurant.
He said he thought "maybe I came at the wrong store.
"I would be scared for the guys who work inside," Chaudhary said. "The car was almost half inside."
The victims, both in their 20s, were taken to Long Island Jewish Medical Center and are in stable condition.
The scene is still under investigation, according to police.
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