A speeding Mercedes-Benz driver ran a red light in East Harlem, sparking a chaotic chain-reaction crash that crushed to death a 51-year-old man crossing the street, police said Wednesday.
The driver, speeding uptown on First Ave., changed lanes, ran a red light, then mounted a concrete island near E. 105th St. about 3:40 p.m. Tuesday, cops said.
Video obtained by CBS News New York shows a woman dodging almost certain death, stepping back just in time as the Mercedes slams into her shopping cart.
The car then struck a parked motorcycle and a parked Chevy Tahoe.
The victim, crossing in front of the Tahoe, was crushed by the SUV as it was pushed into a parked box truck, police said. The truck then collided with a parked Infiniti.
Nadjari Reid suffered severe leg injuries when he was crushed by the Tahoe, police said. Medics rushed him to New York-Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell but he could not be saved.
Driver Angel Melendez, 51, was arrested for manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, reckless endangerment and endangering the welfare of a child — his 14-year-old son, who was in the passenger seat but not hurt.
Melendez. who lives a half-block from the scene, was taken to Metropolitan Hospital in stable condition then later arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court. He was ordered held on $500,000 bail.
A 50-year-old man in the Infiniti suffered minor injuries and was treated at Harlem Hospital.
Reid, who lived three blocks away, was remembered as kind and caring by neighbors who gathered at the scene.
“He was always fun, good with the community, good with the kids, work out, play his music, stay to himself,” Larry Ruga told Eyewitness News. “He was a good guy. This is just unfortunate, like really sad for this thing to even happen. Especially to him.”
