SUV Mows Down 29-Year-Old, Injures Multiple At NYC Restaurant's Outdoor Dining

A 29-year-old was killed and several others injured by a speeding SUV that crashed into a New York City restaurant in the Astoria-Ditmars section of Queens, Thursday evening.

A Mercedes Benz SUV driver was heading north on 35th Street toward Ditmars when she mowed down a 40-foot row of tables and chairs in two interconnected properties. According to police, the tragic incident occurred about 7:45 p.m. outside Rosatoro, a Peruvian restaurant on the edge of Ditmars Blvd. and 35th St, Fox News reported.

It's possible that lives were saved because the restaurant's manager thought it was too cold to serve customers outside on the night of the accident. The 29-year-old male, killed in the incident was a deliveryman on a scooter. He was outside the restaurant, between the structures when he was hit by the speeding car, the restaurant manager, Kevin Sales said.

Sales said that the SUV came “out of nowhere”. “[The SUV driver] struck him and continued into the next longer structure,” he said. The deceased worked for several restaurants in the area, and was killed by the impact of the collision, New York Daily News reported.

As responders were making their way through the confusion, the NYPD advised people to avoid Ditmars Boulevard and 35th Street.

People being treated on stretchers and carried into an ambulance are seen in a video posted on Twitter. Emergency lights and debris scattered around the usually busy route, which is lined with restaurants, bars, and food trucks can be seen in the video.

The collision appeared to have completely smashed a partially enclosed outdoor dining area in front of a Peruvian restaurant named Rosatoro, according to images circulated on social media.

From across the street, psychotherapist Olinger, 26, who witnessed the carnage, said the fire department arrived at the scene within 2 minutes and a lot of people rushed in to help. “I’m in shock. I still haven’t been able to process it yet,” she told the outlet.

The driver remained at the place of the incident, an NYPD spokesperson said. Olinger said the driver was taken out of the SUV by rescuers. “She was sitting in a chair, talking to (medics),” the psychotherapist added that the driver was taken away as she was in a state of shock.

A witness claimed to have been in an Uber car that the driver had zipped by at "well over 50 mph" before the accident, according to a video posted by a freelance journalist. The speed limit in this area is 25 mph.