Police: Sara Perez, 18, fatally struck by pickup truck in Queens, unlicensed 16-year-old was driving
NEW YORK -- An 18-year-old was killed after being hit by a pickup truck in Queens on Thursday, and police say the driver was a teenager who does not have a license.
Police say the 16-year-old driver was picking up his dad's truck from an auto shop, and as he was backing up, he accelerated forward and hit an 18-year-old woman on the sidewalk.
Surveillance video shows the car tires reversing off the sidewalk into the street and then quickly lurching forward before onlookers eventually run over.
It happened around 5 p.m. on Northern Boulevard by the corner of 107th Street in Corona.
A mangled front bumper and cans of cat food were left behind where police say the truck pinned 18-year-old Sara Perez against a wall.
"She was a really nice, sweet, caring girl. She always had a smile on her face. She would always take care of her cats," said Elvis Perez, the victim's cousin.
Ingrid Martinez was working next door and came out when she heard the impact.
"Like a boom, like a bomb explode," she told CBS2's Ali Bauman. "I saw the girl was unconscious on the floor, and she had a mask and the mask was red with blood."
Martinez then went over to the unlicensed 16-year-old driver, who was nervous and shaking, waiting outside the truck.
"I spoke to him and I asked him what happened. He said, my brakes doesn't work and I came from the tire shop and it's supposed to be good because they was working on it, I dunno," Martinez said.
Perez was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
The driver spoke to police at the scene but was not arrested.
It's unclear if he has a learner's permit, but police say regardless, he was alone in the car.
Editor's note: Police initial said Perez was 19, but her family tells CBS2 she was 18 years old
