NEW YORK (WCBS/CNN) – A driver in New York City claims she had a medical issue that resulted in the deaths of two young children after her car struck several pedestrians in a crosswalk.
Abigail Blumenstein, 4, and Josh Lew, 1, were crossing the street with their mothers Monday afternoon when witnesses say a car at the intersection made a move to get around a stopped vehicle.
“It had just turned red, and there were other cars that were stopped there. So, she started going slow… and then she just threw her head back, closed her eyes and accelerated,” one witness said.
The driver, identified as 44-year-old Dorothy Bruns, hit the group of pedestrians, police say, including Abigail, Josh and their mothers.
“The baby went flying in the air,” one woman said.
After the initial impact, witnesses say the vehicle dragged the children down the block as Bruns kept going, even seeming to speed up.
“She just kept going. She hit the baby here, the mother. The little girl, she just rode over her,” another witness said.
As some people ran over to try and help the victims, others ran after the car until it hit a parked vehicle, hundreds of feet away and on the other side of the road.
Bruns was evaluated at the scene and put into an ambulance. Authorities say she wasn’t drunk and may have suffered a medical episode that precipitated the crash.
No charges have been filed against Bruns, as officials continue to investigate the incident.
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