Two people were mowed down in Manhattan’s Chinatown on Saturday morning, and police say the driver behind the wheel was arrested after trying to flee the scene.
The crash happened near Canal Street and Bowery, near the Manhattan Bridge around 7:30 a.m.
Police said a man on a bike and a woman sitting on the sidewalk were struck by the driver of a Chevy Malibu after the car came off of the bridge. Police say the driver also rammed into a parked NYPD van, which sent the mangled vehicle into a nearby jewelry store.
“They were going at least 70 [mph], whipping off the bridge,” one witness said. “They come off the bridge. Next thing you know they hit these two people, clipped them.”
The remnants of the violent crash were scattered across the street: a tree brought down, bench thrown from its position, and shoes left covering the road.
Police said the driver and passenger, inside the Chevy, left the scene but were taken into custody about a block away. Both women are in their early 20s, according to police.
“They got to put up Jersey barriers or some kind of a permanent barrier there to keep people safe,” Karlin Chan said.
The two victims killed in the crash have not yet been identified by police.
