NEW ROCHELLE, NY — A quiet Sunday summer afternoon erupted in chaos shortly after 5 p.m. when a man driving a white Toyota SUV heading Southbound on North Avenue struck a black Chevy sedan heading Eastbound on Main Street, then struck two parked cars before attempting to flee the scene by staggering down the middle of North Avenue in the direction of the American Legion Hall. Bystanders shouted to police officers arriving on scene, pointing out the suspect. Police apprehended the man in front of the South Side Plaza Mall, near Mangoville restaurant.
The Chevy sedan was knocked sideways, its front left wheel caved in. The driver did not sustain serious injuries but was taken to the hospital.
The Toyota SUV continued through the intersection, crossed two lanes of Northbound traffic on North Avenue then struck a second vehicle head-on, a black Honda sedan parked in front of a medical building, the old Arnold Constable Building. The Honda was jolted backwards and struck a third vehicle, a silver Honda. No one was in either of the parked vehicles.
A New Rochelle Parks Department employee, walking home from Hudson Park at the end of his shift happened upon the scene.
“I was walking Northbound on North Avenue when I heard screeching then a loud crash,” said Collins Cox. “Bystanders were asking a man walking away from the scene if he was OK but he ignored them, as he stumbled Southbound in the middle of the street.”
Cox called the police and gave a description of the man who appeared to be injured.
“A police supervisor pulled up alongside the man,” said Cox. “Three more police cars arrived and the officers restrained the man, then had him sit down while they waited for an ambulance. The paramedics got the guy onto a gurney and transported him to the ambulance then left the scene.”
Cox was not the only person calling 911.
“911 lit up with calls,” said NRPD Sergeant Christopher Castiglia.
Castiglia said both drivers were taken to the Emergency Room at a local hospital.
No charges have been filed but that is expected to change by tomorrow, said Castiglia.
Images courtesy of Collins Cox
