Car Plunges Into Brooklyn Construction Site After Driver Loses Control

By JULIET LINDERMAN

A woman lost control of her sport utility vehicle in Brooklyn on Wednesday morning, striking a bicyclist and several other vehicles on Coney Island Avenue before crashing through a plywood barrier and plummeting roughly 40 feet into a ditch at a construction site, according to witnesses and Fire Department officials.

The woman, who was not immediately identified, was rescued by construction workers; she and another person were taken to Kings County Hospital Center and Maimonides Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries, according to a Fire Department spokesman.

“The car turned over; it was a loud noise, and everyone turned to look,” said Omar Porcayo, 21, who works at Pomegranate, a supermarket across the street. “I ran over and saw two people. I saw construction workers pulling her out of the car. I was surprised they didn't get hit, too. Everyone was amazed.”

Wi tnesses said the woman was driving a blue Toyota Highlander north on Coney Island Avenue before 10 a.m. when she struck a bicyclist traveling south on the wrong side of the road. In swerving to try to avoid the bicycle, the woman ended up hitting a delivery truck, a second delivery van and then a parked Nissan Maxima. Then the S.U.V. blasted through a protective plywood barrier and into a hole, about 40 feet deep.

“I was driving from Avenue K on Coney Island Avenue, and she was out of control,” said Juan Carpio, 49, who was driving a John H. Williams delivery van when the motorist hit him. “She hit a bike, then a white truck first, and then was coming towards me. I braked, she swerved, then hit a gray car and fell. I was in shock. I thought she was dead; it was so far down.”

Aharon Melool, a representative of J.C.W.H. Coney Island L.L.C., which owns the construction site, said the site was not active at the time of the accident.

At about 12:15 p.m., police officers extricated the badly damaged vehicle from the hole, its windows smashed and hood and roof completely crushed. A small crowd remained, milling about on the sidewalk.

“The fact that this woman is O.K.,” said one passer-by, “that's a miracle.”