Cab mows down teen girl when driver suffers heart attack
A 13-year-old schoolgirl amazingly survived this impact after an out-of-control livery cab struck her on a Brooklyn sidewalk Thursday.
Gitel Hershenbaum suffered only a fractured leg — and her dad credits her heavy backpack.
“The backpack was very full of books, and that’s what pulled her back” onto the hood of the car instead of being hurled airborne, Israel Hershenbaum told WABC’s “Eyewitness News.”
The incident happened at 8:15 a.m. at the corner of 18th Avenue and 55th Street in Borough Park.
The driver had apparently suffered a heart attack and lost control of the car, officials said.
Surveillance video shows Gitel standing on the sidewalk and suddenly spotting the black Toyota Camry — its open rear door flapping — as it barrels her way. She turns to run, but is struck from behind.
The 48-year-old driver was rushed to Maimonides Medical Center, where he was listed in critical condition.
He was not expected to be charged, officials said, because the crash was caused by a medical episode.