9 People Injured in Brooklyn Car Crash

Nine people were injured, including several pedestrians, during a car accident in Brooklyn Saturday afternoon, officials and witnesses said.

According to authorities the accident occurred just before 2:30 p.m. near the intersection of Quentin Road and West 5th Street.

Witnesses said two cars collided after one of the vehicles may have run a stop sign. Pictures from the scene show one of the vehicles flipped over in the street. Three pedestrians are believed to be among the injured.

Fire officials said the inured were taken to Lutheran Hospital, where two are listed in critical condition.

Check back for more details on this developing story.

Photo Credit: Peter Gerber

Five Firefighters Hurt in Sunset Park Blaze

SUNSET PARK — Five firefighters were hurt when a heavy fire ripped through a one-story commercial building in Sunset Park Tuesday evening, authorities said.

More than 100 firefighters responded to 124 57th St., between First and Second avenues, after the second-alarm blaze broke out about 6 p.m., FDNY officialssaid.

Five firefighters suffered minor injuries. Two were treated at the scene and three were taken to Lutheran Medical Center in stable condition, the FDNY said.

The blaze began in the basement of the building and spread to the first floor, officials said.

It took firefighters about an hour to bring the fire under control.

By: DNAinfo

Cops seize $5M of cocaine in Times Square gang raid

There's no business like snow business — not in Times Square, where over 100 pounds of cocaine were seized in a dramatic drug gang takedown, officials said today.

The drugs were recovered from three bulging suitcases that were walked out of the Crowne Plaza Hotel like so much tourist luggage, with cops swooping in from their surveillance posts to bust six accused coke traffickers who'd turned the neighborhood into the Great White Way, authorities said.

The drugs, seized on Oct. 25, totaled 48 kilos and would have been worth $5 million on the street, officials estimated.

 

The six alleged traffickers have already been indicted on conspiracy and drug possession, according to Bridget Brennan, the city's Special Narcotics Prosecutor, and Joseph D'Amico, Superintendent of the state police, whose offices collaborated on the investigation.

State cops conducting surveillance at the hotel watched as at shortly after 6 p.m. Fernando Alvarado, 23, of The Bronx, left the hotel with a suitcase — later discovered to be holding 30 pounds of coke -- and placed it in the trunk of a waiting silver BMW, officials said.

Alvarado jumped into the passenger seat and the car sped off north, only to be stopped near 50th Street and Sixth Avenue. Alvarado and the driver, Gerinerdo Hernandez, 34, of The Bronx, were busted on the spot.

A short time later, a second man left the hotel, Luis Cuevas-Muniz, 25, of Tao Baja, Puerto Rico, also carrying a suitcase — this one holding some 66 pounds of cocaine.

Cops watched as Cuevas-Muniz jumped into a waiting livery cab with his massive suitcase and rode just one block before the cab stopped and he got out again — leaving the 66-pounds of coke in the cab — and walked back to the hotel, cops said.

As some cops followed the cab and its suitcase back at the hotel, Cuevas-Muniz was next seen back inside the hotel concourse with yet a third suitcase, this one holding the remainder of the 105 pounds of coke.

Investigators quickly grabbed two NYPD officers who happened to be nearby and were able to arrest Cuevas-Muniz on the spot. A man Cuevas-Muniz was talking to bolted, and one state police investigator chased him through the theater district and east toward Rockefeller Center, where he was lost in the holiday decorations-gazing crowds, according to a law enforcement source.

Meanwhile, the livery cab was pulled over at 57th Street and Eighth Avenue, and the driver, Roberto Alvarez, 37, of The Bronx, was also arrested.

Finally, back at the Crowne Plaza, more state cops also stormed the hotel room where the alleged traffickers had been staying and arrested two more defendants from inside the room: Kaleb Altiery-Vazquez, 23, of Winston Salem, NC, and Juan Alverio-Ruiz, 50, of Tao Baja.

In the room cops recovered plastic wrappings used to cover kilos of narcotics, multiple plane tickets in the defendants' names and cell phones, cops said.

The plane tickets showed that members of the group had travelled from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to White Plains, NY, with a stop in Orlando, Fla, cops said.

The defendants were being arraigned this morning before Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Charles Solomon, who is ordering they be held without bail and setting Dec. 17 as their next appearance date.

Parking Lot Attendant Killed by Falling SUV in Financial District Garage

FINANCIAL DISTRICT — A parking lot attendant was killed by an SUV that fell from a lift in a Barclay Street garage Monday morning, authorities and witnesses said.

The accident took place about 7:10 a.m. in the garage at 233 Broadway, near Barclay Street.

The male victim, whose name and age have not been released, was pronounced dead at the scene.

"It looks like it rolled off the lift," said FDNY Battalion Chief David Simms, who added that the vehicle appeared to have fallen from a height of about 6 feet.

The accident is still under investigation, authorities said.

by Victoria Bekiempis, Jeanmarie Evelly,DNAinfo

Mobile Crane Collapses In Hell's Kitchen, No Injuries Reported

A mobile crane collapsed this morning in a vacant lot in Hell's Kitchen but no injuries were reported.

Fire officials say the crane, which was mounted on the back of a truck, fell around 8:45 a.m. at 438 West 38th Street, between 9th and 10th Avenues, near the exit from the Lincoln Tunnel.

The mobile crane tipped over as it tried to lift an air conditioning unit off of another truck to the top of a nearby building.

The crane fell over, into the street.

Passersby said they hear a large bang as the crane fell.

Another crane is being sent to West 38th Street to lift the fallen crane off of the truck. Traffic is closed off from the area.

By: NY1 News

NYPD: AMBER Alert Issued For Two Abducted Bronx Children

NEW YORK  – An AMBER Alert has been issued for two missing children in the Bronx following a domestic dispute, according to police.

Police said the suspect, Fitz Edwards, fired a gun before setting a home on fire. He then allegedly took off with the two young children in a car he jacked, police said.

According to police, Nahzir Edwards, approximately five years old, and Mlyliah Edwards, approximately two years old, were abducted on Barker Avenue at about 4 a.m. on Sunday.

Police have identified Edwards, 29, described as a black man with braided black hair. He is about 6′ tall with a slim build and was last seen wearing a dark jacket.

He is believed to be armed with a gun, police said.

The suspect is expected to be traveling in a grey 4-door sedan 2005 Honda Accord with NY license plate numberEWV6599. The license plate is the white empire version, police said.

Anyone with any information on this abduction is asked to call the New York City Police at (866) N Y S-AMBER or dial 911 to provide information on a report or sighting.

Fatal Brooklyn Accident Kills One, Injures Another; Alleged Driver Charged

A driver was charged Thursday following an alleged hit and run that killed a man and injured a woman in Brooklyn.

Investigators say the man and woman were crossing a street in East Williamsburg just after 5 a.m. Thursday when they were hit by a car driven by Adam Recio.

They were thrown into another lane, where the man was hit by a second vehicle.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The woman was rushed to Elmhurst Hospital.

Police say Recio took off and then abandoned his car, which was found a short time later.

He's charged with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death and serious injury.

The driver of the second vehicle remained at the scene.

By: NY1 News