Hit-and-Run Driver Mows Down Four Teens in Garden City 1010WINS.com
May 22, 2010
GARDEN CITY, N.Y. (1010 WINS) -- Cops on Long Island have arrested an alleged hit-and-run driver after four teenage pedestrians were run down near the Roosevelt Field Mall on Long Island.
The 16-year-old girls were preparing to cross Old Country Road Wednesday evening when they were struck by a Toyota Camry that had jumped a curb.
Two of the girls landed on the hood of the car and were screaming as they were carried for a short stretch before being thrown to the roadway, police said.
Witnesses told police the car stopped twice before leaving the scene.
The driver of the Camry was arrested a short time later, a little more than a mile away from the crash scene, after a quick-thinking witness chased after the driver, police said.
"I was right behind him flashing my lights. I was able to get his plate number and then I pulled up right on the side of his car. He was stopped at the red light, and I said 'Pull over. We got your plate. The cops are coming,'" Steve Loverde told WCBS-TV.
The suspect, 26-year-old Elias Garcia, of Hempstead, was to appear in court in Mineola on Thursday to face charges of assault, reckless driving and four counts of endangering the welfare of a child.
Police say Garcia is an undocumented immigrant from Guatemala. He was apparently driving without a license and may now face deportation.
The most seriously injured girl received 170 stitches in her head. The other three were also treated at area hospitals for less serious injuries, police said.
The four girls are all friends from Herricks High School.
