Witnesses to the freak accident that left a 21-year-old Howrad Beach woman hospitalized for injuries she sustained after being struck by a mailbox that was hurtled through the air after an out of control vehile tore it from the sidewalk. Forum Newsgroup photo by Patricia Adams.
Three women were rushed to Jamaica Hospital after a crazy turn of events during a five-car accident at 160th Avenue and Cross Bay Boulevard in Howard Beach around 9 a.m. on Saturday.
According to eye witnesses and reports from hospital sources, a 70-year-old woman identified as Carole Gutowski was travelling southbound on Cross Bay Blvd when she entered the turn lane at 160th Avenue.Upon making the turn she collided with another vehicle driven by 38-year old Karen Macklin .
Witnesses say that after the two cars hit, Macklin’s car hit the last of three parked cars in front of Marlowe Jewelers and then flipped into the air, landing upside down in the middle of the busy roadway.
Meanwhile, the vehicle driven by Gutowski, jumped the center median, and wound up back on the southbound side of Cross Bay where it mounted the curb, hit a pole and then struck a mailbox which was torn from the concrete and sent hurtling in the air. The flying mailbox struck 21-year-old pedestrian, Josephine Darpa, who suffered lacerations and bruising about the neck, back and extremeties.
Both drivers and the pedestrian were rushed to Jamaica Hospital where the Gutowski was treated and released while the other two women remained at the hospital with serious but non-life threatening injuries.
And while the morning proved hellish for both drivers and an unsuspecting pedestrian, three other women, all Howard Beach residents, found themselves as unlikely victims of the same accident.
They were attending a yoga class in nearby Better Bodies Gym when they learned that it was their cars that had been struck in the accident.
One of the women, Rosanne Alberga, was on her cell phone trying to explain what had happened to a family member; she just shook her head staring at her crumpled car. Passersby consoled Alberga with the usual words of support; “Thank God you weren’t in the car.” “That’s what insurance is for.” The senior citizen knew they were right but the heat of the day and the frustration were obvious in her voice. “This is not exactly how a yoga class is supposed to end you know.” The two other local women, mother and daughter Grace and Cristina Verasco, were quick to nod their heads in agreement; both of their cars we pushed together in the collision. “It’s a good thing we were relaxed from yoga when we got the news,” the elder Verasco joked, “I’ll just drive her [Rosanne] home for now and next week, I think we’ll park someplace else.”
By Patricia Adams
