We received word this morning that a frightening hit and run/police chase went down on Greenpoint Ave and Franklin last night. A car hit a delivery man on a motorcycle at around 8:20pm; then the driver actually exited the vehicle and ran.
Here’s the story from our tipster:
He hit at least one car and a delivery guy on a motorized scooter, then drove about 30 yards down Franklin. The driver then stopped the car, jumped out and ran away. According to one witness, the passenger ran back to the scene of the accident.
The car that caused the mess was still sitting in the middle of the street when I got there, next to a cop car. The delivery guy had just been loaded into an ambulance. The car had a for sale sign in the window ($4,000 and 95,000 miles as one guy pointed out).
I was told the driver was chased down (not sure by whom) and taken away in a police car.
I hope the guy that got hit is OK – a couple witnesses told me he was moving and responsive but looked like he was in a lot of pain (they used the word “writhing”).
Gothamist reported that EMS transported the victim to Bellevue, but had no additional information on their condition. Several bystanders chased the driver and he was caught by police, who declined to comment.
If you have any additional information about the accident, contact us: greenpointers [at] gmail.com.
Any local lawyers want to help out delivery guy?
Even if he is “ok”, it’s probably safe to say that he doesn’t have health insurance and the NYPD won’t do a thorough investigation.
I was walking along Franklin St. at India when the black car in question ripped by. It was going faster and louder than any car I have ever seen on the streets of New York City and I thought to myself “this is not going to end well.” Sure enough, on my way back down Franklin by car ten minutes later I saw the crowd starting to form at the intersection in question, but I didn’t stick around. Thanks for reporting on this, at least now I know what actually happened…
My friend and I were walking along Franklin just south of Greenpoint Ave when the car came ripping down Greenpoint Ave from Manhattan Ave at about 50 MPH. He tried to make a right turn and overshot it (unsurprisingly at that speed) and banged into a parked car. He would have gone straight into Lulu’s if a car hadn’t been parked there. He then peeled off but just crashed into another car a few yards further down and on the opposite side of the street.
After a beat or two during which my friend and I tried to process what we had just seen, we realized there was a man in the street. I sprinted over in case another car came and didn’t see him, while she called 911. He had been sitting at a red light on his scooter, the Chinese food he was set to deliver strewn all about him. He wasn’t visibly bleeding, but he was certainly “writing” as the other witness described and holding onto his head. Fortunately, he’d been wearing a helmet.
I heard the police say that the driver had been apprehended on India Street, but what I really want to know if he’s having charges brought against him. I’ve only found information on this here and on Gothamist and I’m worried that the NYPD is going to let this slide from the sound of things! (Gothamist says the station has NO report of an incident???)
Anyone have any idea??? This was really jarring to witness and I hope that the victim is OK.
According to a Gothamist commenter:
“The Greenpoint delivery man works at Great Wall and he is going to be alright. A badly broken leg. I learned this afternoon he is being held at least another night for observation at a midtown hospital according to his coworker.”