By Rocco Parascandola
New York Daily News
NEW YORK — Seven people crossing a Manhattan street were struck by a driver who blew through a red light and then sped off to Queens — where she got in another crash before being arrested, police said Monday.
None of the victims suffered serious injuries.
The hit-and-run driver, who lives in New Jersey and appears to have been in the throes of a mental health crisis, is expected to be charged with numerous offenses, police said.
“I just prayed to God,” a police official quotes her as telling cops after her arrest. “And I closed my eyes when I went through there.”
The chaos began when the 29-year-old motorist drove her Honda Accord through the red light at Sixth Ave. and W. 36th St. just north of Macy’s Herald Square about 11:55 p.m. Sunday, cops said.
The pedestrians, ages 24 to 61, were crossing Sixth Ave. with the walk light when they were struck, with the driver continuing east and fleeing through the Queens Midtown Tunnel, police said.
By then, police had a description of her car and the license plate.
Once in Queens, she continued east on the Long Island Expressway and struck two vehicles near the Clearview Expressway, about 14 miles from the scene in Midtown.
Police saw that her plate matched the one on the Accord involved in the Manhattan crash and took her into custody. She tested negative for alcohol.
The drivers struck in Queens declined medical attention.
The victims in Manhattan include six men and one woman. One victim refused medical attention and another was treated at the scene, officials said Four victims were taken to Bellevue Hospital and one to New York-Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell.
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