An elderly driver jumped a curb and plowed into a Queens bus stop crowded with schoolkids yesterday, injuring two dozen people in a scene described as “hell on earth.”
The intersection of Hillside Avenue and Francis Lewis Boulevard in Hollis was a horror show – with bleeding children and shaken witnesses filling the air with screams.
“It was like being at a bowling alley and all the pins got hit,” said Sam Agbai, 22, who saw the 3 p.m. accident unfold from across the street.
Authorities said 23 people between the ages of 6 and 20 were hurt, along with one elderly woman and the 73-year-old driver. The injuries – which included a fractured pelvis, broken legs, busted heads, scrapes and bruises – were not life-threatening, hospital officials said.
The motorist, Wilfred Moore of Queens, was coming down Hillside when he felt chest pains and apparently tried to pull over, officials said. But he lost control, mounted the curb and mowed down 24 people waiting in a line for buses.
“I could hear the engine revving. I could hear the crash when he hit [a light] pole. I heard bones snapping,” Agbai said. “Kids were flying in the air. An old lady got hit. It was like hell on earth.”
Dozens of students from area schools including Incarnation elementary school, St. Francis Prep, PS 135 and Bayside HS were waiting at the stop.
Jennifer Milliern, 16, had been standing at the stop but moved away moments before the crash.
“I was talking to a friend and then I saw this flash right before me. I saw this little girl go flying,” she said. “This little girl who goes to Incarnation – her leg had meat coming out of it.”
Alan Green, 32, said the carnage was unbelievable. “I saw three kids hit the street and their heads just busted open. It was horrible, just terrible. I’d be scared to death to have my children at this bus stop.”
The injured were taken to Long Island Jewish Medical Center, Mary Immaculate Hospital, New York Hospital-Queens, Queens General and North Shore University Hospital.
“It looks like they’ll all recover,” said Paul Gitman, medical director at Long Island Jewish, where 12 kids and the driver were admitted. Four were to have surgery.