1 Killed, Several Injured After Vehicle Crashes Into Restaurant's Outdoor Dining Area In Queens
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- One person died and several were injured after a vehicle crashed into a restaurant's outdoor dining area in Queens on Thursday.
It happened around 7:45 p.m. at 35th Street near Ditmars Boulevard.
Police say the driver was trying to cut off the car in front of her when she lost control and slammed into restaurant Rosatoro's seating structure, taking a tree down with her.
"It looked like it kinda accelerated," one witness said. "I saw it aim into it and then the tree fell first. I think that's what drew a lot of people into it."
As CBS2's Ali Bauman reports, at least three people were rushed to nearby hospitals, and one man succumbed to his injuries. He was identified overnight as 37-year-old Xing Lin.
Surveillance video shows the chaos as a car rammed through the outdoor dining structure, jumped a curb and hit a tree, stopping just short of the restaurant's open wall.
"The car was smoking. Nobody knew what to do," witness Teresa Rubbino said.
Police say it appears the driver, a 61-year-old woman, got frustrated by a slow car ahead of her, so she tried going around by driving in the bike lane. That's when she lost control of the car.
"It's bound to happen. Look at all these areas, all these restaurants. I mean, I'm not saying they don't make their money, but people gotta be careful. They gotta drive safer," Rubbino said.
Police say the vehicle slammed into Xin, believed to be a food deliveryman riding a Yamaha scooter.
Lin died at the hospital. The driver and someone dining at the restaurant were also rushed by ambulance, but are expected to be OK.
Right now, it's unclear if the driver will be charged.
The restaurant manager told CBS2 nobody was actually seated in the outdoor dining structure due to the rain, otherwise this deadly accident might have been even worse.
