At least two elderly women pushing shopping carts or strollers were injured in two separate hit and run incidents in the Bronx in December. A third female senior said she, too, was the victim of a hit and run incident, and that it was allegedly an FDNY EMS ambulance that left her lying on the ground in pain.

 

In the latest incident, cops are still looking for a driver who knocked an unidentified, 92-year-old woman to the ground at 1.08 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 30, at the corner of East Tremont Avenue and Daily Avenue in the West Farms section of the Bronx.

 

“I heard a boom,” one female resident, who asked not to be identified, recalled, adding that when she turned around, she saw a woman lying on the road. The witness was one of several who rushed to the senior’s aid. “She had a really big bump on her head,” the witness said. “She knew her name, but she didn’t know where she was.”

 

Other witnesses reported that some people administered aid to the victim, while others ran to a nearby firehouse. Members of Engine 45 / Ladder 58 were summoned to the collision scene and also administered aid to the victim until paramedics arrived.

 

Afterwards, customers and employees at Tremont Deli and Grocery gathered around a pair of police officers inside the store to watch the store’s surveillance monitor play back the video that captured the incident. A second video from another angle showed the driver briefly stopping, and then swerving back into traffic before speeding away.

 

Commenting on the incident on Thursday, Dec. 31, police spokeswoman, Detective Sophia Mason, said, “Upon arrival [at the incident location], officers observed a 92-year-old female pedestrian, complaining of head, neck and back pain.” She added, “EMS responded to the location and transported the aided female to Saint Barnabas Hospital in stable condition.”

 

Mason continued, “Further investigation determined the female was attempting to cross the intersection at the location, when a black Ford Edge made a left turn onto southbound East Tremont Avenue and struck the female as she attempted to cross East Tremont Avenue.”

Mason concluded, “Upon impact, the motorist stopped, then continued to drive along East Tremont Avenue. There are no arrests, and the investigation remains ongoing.”

 

Police are looking for the driver of the black Ford Edge SUV with New York plates, seen in the video footage, which can be viewed here. Viewers are reminded they may find the footage upsetting.

 

Earlier last month, on Dec. 10, as she was pulling her laundry-filled shopping cart across Third Avenue, at East 183rd Street in Little Italy, Raqibah Basir, 64, said she was struck by an FDNY EMS ambulance as it pulled out of St. Barnabas Hospital.

 

Recalling the seconds before the ambulance allegedly ran into her, Basir told the Norwood News, by phone, from her home on Dec. 31, “I had the right of way and this guy came out of nowhere.” She added, “I was trapped, and there was no way I could get out of the way because I had a cane, and I had the shopping cart. So, he was coming at me, and he puts the lights on, and then he puts the siren on, and he was still coming in my direction.”

 

She continued, “I couldn’t get out of the way fast enough. I swung the shopping cart [around], and it hit into my chest and my left arm, and it caused my body to twist.” Basir said seconds later, while leaning on her shopping cart, she hit the side of the ambulance with her cane. “He [the driver] paused, but then kept going,” she said. “He didn’t even stop to see how he injured me or anything.”

 

She said a stranger came to her aid, and accompanied her to St. Barnabas Hospital, where she was examined. She said she suffered an asthma attack and internal injuries as a result of the incident.

 

Basir said she has requested a copy of her medical report from the hospital but was informed she had to pick it up in person. Because she has been recuperating at home, she said she has not been unable to do so.

 

Norwood News contacted St. Barnabas Hospital to ask about the victim’s injuries, and to inquire whether the hospital’s surveillance footage captured the incident. We did not receive an immediate response. Basir said she suffers from a heart condition, and that the doctors said they were concerned about her pacemaker.

 

She said for two weeks following the incident, she had been seeking the police report number. Upon receipt, she shared it with the Norwood News. We contacted the NYPD and were told the report number provided was incorrect.  After providing the date and details of the alleged hit and run incident, an unnamed NYPD official located the report and said, “A 64-year-old female reported that she was at the location [Third Avenue and East 183rd Street] when her grocery cart got struck by an unknown ambulance which left the location.”

 

The police official added, “She stated she had sustained pain and an injury to her chest, and that she had walked to St. Barnabas Hospital for medical treatment.”

 

Basir later said of the police account, “That’s misinformation,” and appeared to suggest that police were downplaying the incident.