A man was killed and six other people were injured when the driver of a minivan lost control as he was trying to park on a lower Manhattan street, police and fire officials said.
The driver, identified as Henry Herman, 70, of Orange County, New York, was backing up his 2015 Toyota Sienna on Forsyth Street toward Canal Street in Chinatown at about 6:50 p.m. He was driving in reverse at a crawl until he reached the spot and spun his steering wheel sharply, causing the car to jump the curb and hit seven people, police said.
Chun Deng Zhang, 56, of Queens, was pronounced dead at the scene, the NYPD said. Four victims — two in critical condition and two in serious condition — were rushed to hospitals, according to the FDNY. Two others sustained minor injuries and refused medical attention at the scene.
Herman, who remained at the scene, was taken into custody and charged with failure to yield to pedestrians and failure to exercise due care, among other charges.
Terrible car crash on Canal St has killed 1 pedestrian and injured 6 more. A full NYPD investigation is underway. We cannot accept loss of life on our streets as inevitable. We will continue working harder every day to reach #VisionZero.
— Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) November 27, 2018
Mayor Bill de Blasio promised a "full NYPD investigation" of the accident.
"We cannot accept loss of life on our streets as inevitable. We will continue working harder every day to reach #VisionZero," the mayor tweeted Monday night, referring to his administration’s initiative to reduce traffic fatalities.
With Nicole Brown
