Two women were struck by a SUV going in reverse down a busy Upper West Side street this evening, leaving both in critical condition, witnesses and police said.
The unidentified women were on Amsterdam Avenue near W. 98th Street when the accident occurred shortly after 5 p.m.
“There was a big crash and I went outside to see. She was laying down with blood coming out of her nose and ears. Someone was holding her head up as they were waiting for the ambulance,” said a clerk at Xtreem Kleen Laundromat and Dry Cleaning near the accident site.
Witnesses described the women as elderly.
One woman may not survive her injuries, a FDNY official said.
“I heard noise outside, a crash and people yelling. Someone rushed into the store and yelled, “‘Call an ambulance, call 911,’” said an employee at Joon’s Westside Fish Market.
The market is located directly at the corner where the accident took place.
The employee said he called the police then went outside.
“She had blood coming from her head. I could see it in her hair.”
He described the accident as occurring after the Ford Explorer going West on 98th was attempting to park and reversing on the street when he struck the women.
The NYPD highway investigations team is currently on the scene.