A nightmarish accident ended miraculously for two women in a Jeep who plummeted off of Union Turnpike in Queens, crashed onto the lower Jackie Robinson Parkway below and walked away unscathed, witnesses said.
“They were very lucky. What are the odds of falling off [the roadway] and walking away with such little injuries, especially the passenger?” said witness Henry Bacharach, 71. “One in a thousand chance.”
The driver of the Jeep Loredo driving southbound on Union Turnpike in Kew Gardens lost control of her dark-blue SUV after she attempted to turn left on Park Lane, witnesses said.
The out-of-control vehicle tore up everything in its path, including mesh and metal fencing meant to shield motorists from the parkway 15-feet below.
“I heard a huge collision,” said Kim Melendez, 40, a forensic scientist, who dashed to the scene from nearby Forest Park.
“You could hear metal crushing, things flying. I saw the car on its roof on the medium.”
The women kicked out the windshield of the mangled Jeep, witnesses said. Good Samaritans reached into wreckage to help get the unidentified women out, witnesses said.
“The driver came out fine,” Melendez said. “The other woman injured her hand.”
One of the Good Samaritans, a motorist, who declined to give his name, stopped as he drove along the Jackie Robinson Parkway.
“They were nervous and shaken up,” he said.
The victims said, “Thank you,” according to the helpful motorist.
A curious bystander, who identified himself as Martin, 45, asked an officer at the scene how likely it was to survive such a crash.
“She told me it’s a one in a million chance that both people would survive a fall like that,” he said.
“Judging by the distance from up top to the bottom of the underpass, it seemed very unlikely that things would work out that well,” he added. “These people walked away!”