A driver is facing charges after a three-wheel motorized bike plowed into a crowd at a park in Brooklyn, leaving 12 people hurt, according to Eyewitness News ABC7NY. The driver was identified as 53-year-old Nisha Atkinson, and the crash sent more than a dozen people to the hospital before charges were announced the following morning.
Witnesses said the crash happened around 6:40 in the evening at Commodore Berry Park, in the Fort Greene section of Brooklyn, near Flushing Avenue and Navy Street. The park was packed at the time because of a special event, and people described the area as very crowded, with many still lingering on the dance floor and around the stage as the event was winding down.
In total, 12 people were struck, seven men and five women, with ages ranging from 36 to 73 years old. The collision initially sent more than a dozen people to the hospital, some of them seriously hurt overnight, but by the next morning all of the victims were reported to be in stable condition.
Video from the scene the night of the crash showed what looked like a three-wheel motorized bike, with what appeared to be a chair embedded in one of the front wheels. The driver, Atkinson, was also injured and was recovering in the hospital, according to the report from the scene.
People who were at the park said they did not believe the driver had acted on purpose. According to witnesses, Atkinson appeared to lose control of the vehicle before it struck the people who had been gathered in the area, and those who spoke about her said they did not think she was a bad person.
Police said Atkinson has been charged with two counts of reckless endangerment, one count of reckless driving, failure to yield to pedestrians, and improper license. As with any accused person, she is presumed innocent unless and until the case against her is proven in court.
Officers remained at Commodore Berry Park to investigate how the motorized bike came to plow into the crowd during the busy event. Eyewitness News covered the aftermath live from Fort Greene, where the damage left behind, including pieces of a chair, was still visible the morning after the crash.