Elderly Woman Killed, Husband Seriously Hurt In Crash At Brooklyn Car Wash
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – An 85-year-old woman was killed and her 90-year-old husband suffered life-threatening injuries Tuesday afternoon when they were hit by a Jeep at a car wash in Brooklyn.
It happened around 3:15 p.m. at Avenue U and Gerritsen Avenue in the Marine Park neighborhood.
Surveillance video shows the elderly couple standing outside the Mobile gas station waiting to get into their Honda that had just gone through the car wash.
They were inspecting their vehicle after a black Jeep left in neutral rolled into it.
Web Extra: Surveillance Video Of Deadly Car Wash Crash
Sources say at that point a 61-year-old attendant at the car wash backed the Jeep into the garage and hit the building. Then, for unknown reasons he drove forward and struck the couple.
In a bizarre move, the attendant backed up the car and accelerated forward again. He then repeated the move a third time, further smashing into the already damaged car and pushing others onto the sidewalk.
Fellow workers finally pulled him out of the drivers seat. Witnesses say he appeared dazed, looking at the couple on the ground. A witness from a nearby nail salon heard the repeated collisions.
"Two ladies go outside, one lady screaming 'oh somebody died, I'm scared!'," Tracy Ye said. A walking cane could be seen on the ground.
Medics arrived and pronounced the wife, identified as Joan Tornabene of Brooklyn, dead at the scene. Her husband was rushed to NYU Langone Hospital-Brooklyn in serious, life-threatening condition.
Sources told CBS2 he is a retired NYPD lieutenant.
Authorities say the car wash attendant remained at the scene. Sources say police believe the crash was an accident, and there doesn't appear to have been any mechanical issues with the Jeep.
