Connecticut man charged with DWI after striking pedestrians in the Bronx, police say
A Connecticut man was arrested after allegedly driving drunk in the Bronx and hitting pedestrians on a sidewalk late Friday night.
It happened just before 11 p.m. in the Tremont section.
Video shows van mount sidewalk
According to police, Abner Rosa Blanco, of Bridgeport, was driving a white van westbound on East Tremont Avenue when he failed to stay on the road and mounted the sidewalk at Monterey Avenue.
Surveillance video shows the van drifting towards the curb as the driver goes through the intersection, then traveling up onto the sidewalk at the corner, crashing into a pole, a sign and a trash can.
Additional video shows witness Kenyatta Squires ducking into a corner deli moments before the van barrels onto the sidewalk toward two pedestrians standing outside a business.
"Once I seen him coming, I was like, oh s***. Jumped back into the store," Squires told CBS News New York. "It could've been me. He could've hit me first, but lucky I was on point."
Video shows the van strike the pedestrians, then come to a stop after hitting a building.
The two victims, a 21-year-old man and an 18-year-old woman, were both taken to a local hospital in stable condition. Both are expected to recover.
Blanco, 42, was not injured. He was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated.
Witnesses describe chaotic aftermath
Kenny Lam was in the kitchen of Dynasty Taste Chinese Restaurant when he heard the crash.
"Boom, and customers say, oh my God," he said.
Describing what was a community effort, Lam said witnesses ran toward the van to prevent Blanco from fleeing while also tending to the victims.
Witnesses said Blanco appeared to not be coherent.
"He's like, 'Yo, what happened?'" Squires said. "Yo, you just hit two people. What do you mean, 'what happened?' You don't know what happened?"
Three businesses, including Lam's restaurant and Ramon's Unisex Barbershop, were damaged in the crash.
"Never seen nothing like that before," barbershop employee Sylvester Ingram said.
