A man riding a dirt bike through the streets of East Harlem was critically injured in a hit-and-run accident, authorities said.
The biker was first struck by a burgundy Dodge Durango and was then run over by the tire of a delivery truck near the intersection of East 105th Street and Third Avenue around 2:30 p.m., Tuesday, witnesses and officials said.
The victim, who appeared to be in his late 20s or early 30s, was rushed to Harlem Hospital, where he is clinging to life, authorities added. The driver of the Durango fled the scene.
Beeran Roopa, 45, of the Bronx, was making a delivery in his truck when he saw a woman driving the old-model SUV that hit the victim, knocking him over and into the path of a second vehicle.
“He lost his balance and fell into the back of the truck,” Roopa said. “The car side-swiped him on his right and he fell under the left back wheel of the truck. It was terrible.”
The victim’s body was mangled from the trauma, Roopa said.
“He was screaming in pain and his eyes were rolling around like he was losing consciousness,” he added.
A passenger in Roopa’s truck who declined to give his name, was helping unload the truck when he ran toward the carnage to give aid to the victim who was screaming for help.
“Everyone was panicking,” he said. “I took his pulse on his neck and he was alive and his pulse was really high. I grabbed his hand and I told him to breathe in and out… He was losing consciousness and I woke him up and said, ‘Relax.’ He was holding my hand tight. He said he couldn’t feel his legs.”
The driver of the van that ran the victim over told the Post he knew that something hit his back tire but he didn’t know what happened until he got out and looked.
“I heard something,” he said. “I came out and saw the guy and his motorcycle off to the side on the ground.”