A man dressed as a preacher injured six people on Saturday, two of them critically, when he plowed into some pedestrians with his van before crashing into a nearby pond, according to police.
Exclusive video from WPIX in New York shows the aftermath of the crash, which occurred around 7:30 p.m. in Queens. The unidentified driver, who was dressed in a red and white robe, can be seen exiting the partially submerged van with his hands in the air.
The numbers of several Bible verses were scrawled on the back windows of the man’s van.
“Hallelujah! Praise Jesus,” the man said several times, one witness told CBS New York.
“‘Everything I own is in this van, everything I own is in this van,’” the witness quoted the driver saying. “And he just kept saying, ‘Praise Jesus,’ with his hands up and his big, long robe.’
Police told WPIX that the van was speeding when it rear-ended a Hyundai Sonata. The van then veered onto a sidewalk and into Brookeville Park, slamming into two teenage pedestrians before crashing into Conselyeas Pond.
The 19-year-old female pedestrian was in critical condition at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center with head trauma, WPIX reported. The other pedestrian, an 18-year-old man, had a leg injury.
Three people in the Hyundai, including a young girl, suffered minor injuries, CBS New York reported. The driver of the van also had minor injuries.
He was taken into custody at the scene.
"The police subdued him and had him on the (ground), and he was kicking and screaming and kicking and trying to get away," one man told the news station.
Another witness, identified as Sean Hines, told the affiliate that the pedestrians were tossed 6 to 10 feet in the air. The female pedestrian was also run over by the van after the initial strike, Hines said.
Witnesses gave similar statements to WPIX.
Police said charges against the driver were pending.
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