"DWI" VAN PLOWS INTO 2 WOMEN IN QUEENS ACCIDENT: WILL THEY LIVE OR DIE?
"DWI" VAN PLOWS INTO 2 WOMEN IN QUEENS ACCIDENT: WILL THEY LIVE OR DIE?
From: New York attorney Gary E. Rosenberg (personal injury and accident attorney and lawyer; serving Brooklyn Queens Bronx; Queens Injury Attorney)
On Sunday, July 4, 2010, Susan Paez, age 22, and Rosa Hernandez, age 47, were at 93rd Street and Corona Avenue, in Queens County, at around 7:45 p.m. They were unloading groceries from a minivan. A blue van came tearing into the two women and, in a horrific accident, blasted them into the air. The van's driver, Adam Melendez, age 59, drove off and only stopped when concerned neighbors and bystanders chased him down.
Melendez was tested at twice the legal limit for operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol. He was arrested and charged with drunk driving, vehicular assault and leaving the scene of an accident.
Paez and Hernandez were rushed to Elmhurst Hosiptal, where they are in extremely critical condition. According to a family member, Paez was placed into a medically induced coma to try to relieve swelling of her brain.
Hernandez, a divorced mother of five, is fighting for her life after surgery to repair multiple broken bones and stop bleeding in her brain.
Comment 1. Pray for these women's recovery. Also, should either die, the criminal charges against the driver will likely be upgraded to manslaughter.
2. It is sadly ironic that I recently blogged about how the Corona neighborhood where this terrible accident occurred carries the distinction of the highest rate of drunk driving incidents in New York City.
