Photo by David Greene
An unidentified, 19-year-old man is recovering after he was allegedly run over during a chain reaction vehicle crash which occurred near a ‘pop-up’ car wash in Williamsbridge.
Police and fire department rescue crews raced to 1320 East 222nd Street and Wickham Avenue, following initial radio reports that indicated a man was pinned under a vehicle, a claim which could not be corroborated later by officials, when questioned by Norwood News.
The FDNY reported that the crash occurred at 7:21 p.m. on Sunday, May 2, along the busy thoroughfare of East 222nd Street. According to an unnamed police official at 1 Police Plaza, a 19-year-old pedestrian was injured during the incident as he was standing behind a double-parked vehicle.
Photo by David Greene
The official said, based on the incident report he received [based on interviews with the involved parties], “The [double-parked] vehicle began to roll back, striking the pedestrian and then striking a parked vehicle, causing that vehicle [in turn] to roll back and strike another third parked car.”
Photos of the impacted vehicles taken by Norwood News at the incident location after the crash occurred suggest that the damage was caused by a greater impact than a mere rolling car, or that, perhaps, the cars were already damaged.
A video recorded by Norwood News, minutes after the incident occurred, shows five or six vehicles in total on the street which appeared damaged, and not just the three mentioned in the NYPD’s incident report. One white vehicle had its windshield smashed, and several young men were standing around another vehicle that also looked to be damaged. The video can be seen here.
It is unknown if the damage to all six vehicles was caused by the incident or not or if some of the vehicles were already damaged. Norwood News asked for clarification from the NYPD about the number of impacted vehicles. We did not receive an immediate response.
According to police and fire department officials, the male victim was transported to Jacobi Medical Center in “stable” condition with complaint of pain to his arms, legs and head. Norwood News asked the NYPD if the victim was affiliated with the car wash business or a customer of the car wash. We did receive a response.
One resident of the block, who declined to be identified, spoke with the Norwood News the day after the incident took place. She confirmed that a curbside car wash had popped up at the incident location about three weeks earlier. “For [the last] two days, they were parking cars horizontally [against the kerb at a 90 degree angle with the trunk touching the kerb] and had taken all of the parking spots,” she said.
Photo by David Greene
She added that the cars were parked in the ‘no standing’ zone [the incident location], that they contained cleaning materials and supplies [buckets, brushes, and a table] and were covered with tarps at night time. According to the resident, officers from the 47th precinct had apparently not been ticketing the illegally-parked vehicles. “And I was going to complain, but I didn’t know who to….. and I said if I did, then they [the car wash business owners] may retaliate,” she said.
The resident added that she had seen the car wash business owners with the table set up near the fire hydrant at the incident location during the days prior to the incident, and that they had been openly drinking alcohol as they conducted their car-washing business. It looked to her as though some customers were also drinking with them.
Because East 222nd Street is located three blocks from the New England Thruway which sees a lot of busy and fast traffic, the resident said she believed that the car wash spot was not the right site for such a business because it was too dangerous a location.
She concluded, “But nobody tells them anything. Nobody says anything. They park their cars…. they take over all of the parking spaces.” She added that she had nothing against anyone who was trying to make an honest living but said it was a dangerous situation.
The resident called the Norwood News on Tuesday, May 4, and said the car wash business was back up and running.
Photo by David Greene
Meanwhile, a woman who answered the phone at Bronx Community Board 12’s office said she hadn’t received any complaints about the car wash, but would reach out to the district manager about it.
A call placed with the 47th Precinct Community Affairs unit was not immediately returned.
Norwood News had previously reported on the growing number of mobile car washes that have popped up in the North Bronx over the years.
In the meantime, Bronx Community Board 7 brought up the point during March 2022 executive meeting and confirmed that according to New York City Department of Consumer Affairs, street car washes are legal but operators do need to comply with certain rules.
Flier courtesy of Bronx Community Board 7 / New York City Department of Consumer Affairs
The attached flyer provides an overview of the rules in this regard.
In the meantime, as also reported, a car wash employee was shot in the Van Nest neighborhood in November 2021.
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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.
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