New City woman killed by car while sitting on a bench!

[OnTheWheel 43]

One killed, one injured in New City when car jumps curb

By STEVE LIEBERMAN

THE JOURNAL NEWS

(Original publication: September 27, 2007)

NEW CITY - A 78-year-old Congers woman died this afternoon after being hit by a car that drove onto the sidewalk and hit her and a man sitting on a bench outside the Pasta Cucina restaurant on Little Tor Road.

The woman died at Nyack Hospital after the 10:35 a.m. accident, Clarkstown police said. Police were withholding her name until they could notify her family.

The 73-year-old Valley Cottage man sharing the bench did not suffer life-threatening injuries, police said.

The driver, Sarah Migdal, 86, of Suffern will not be charged, Sgt. Harry Baumann said.

Investigators found Migdal inadvertantly stepped on the gas pedal of her blue Toyota Tercel as she pulled into a parking spot in front of the popular restaurant in the strip mall.

Migdal, the woman who died and the injured man were attending a luncheon honoring volunteers with the Rockland Foster Grandparent program, which pairs up older people with youngsters.

Migdal was shaken up and declined comment at the scene.

Betty Meisler, the director of the 28-year-old program, said she was saddened and shocked by the tragedy.

She said the driver thought she stepped on the gas accidentally.

"She's very upset, as you can imagine," Meisler said. "She doesn't really know."

"I can't believe this happened," Meisler said as program official Fran Alexander comforted Migdal. "This is terrible."

Migdal's car pushed the two volunteers on the bench into the restaurant's windows.

The front window and glass door were shattered.

The luncheon was moved to the restaurant's catering hall next door to the strip mall

The New City Ambulance Corps and Rockland Paramedic Services responded. The Clarkstown Police accident investigation team was reconstructing the incident.

Read more about this story tomorrow in The Journal News.

You cant even sit on a bench and be safe from elderly drivers. Yet another story to confirm that we need stricter laws and regulations about the elderly driving!!!

Edited September 27, 2007 by OnTheWheel

[helicopper 1,050]

You cant even sit on a bench and be safe from elderly drivers. Yet another story to confirm that we need stricter laws and regulations about the elderly driving!!!

Elderly female driver and elderly female victim. Anyone else hear rumors that they were both vying for the affection of the same guy at a local nursing home!

Was it really an accident?

Tune in to "As the Steering Wheel Turns", a new reality based soap opera, on the WB11 tonight at 9.

[Guest seanc]

no see word around the retierment home was that they had it out for each other all along, ever since Sarah Migdal didnt share the brownies her grandson brought in....but in all seriusness i think the governement should require yearly testing of elderly to make sure they are competent for driving.

[Bababoosky 24]

as the steering wheel turns? I thought it was the old and the lifeless? In all seriousness, it does go to show that the elderly should be mandated to take annual driving tests once they reach 65 years old.

Edited September 28, 2007 by Bababoosky

[Guest partyrock]

A couple of days ago out in Throggs neck there was an elderly driver who was rescued by NYPD ESU and Rescue 3 after he backed himself out into the sound when he mistakenly hit the gas. These incidents happen all the time, but only catch headlines when they kill someone.

[breezly 6]

We had a very similar incident a couple of years ago. Elderly lady plowed through bushes and jumped the curb killing an elderly man sitting on a bench with his granddaughter. Both tried to get up and run but he didn't make it.

[Guest]

From article - "She's very upset, as you can imagine," Meisler said. "She doesn't really know."

what doesn't she know??....is she or is she not upset? does she not even know whats going on??

[Guest]

Updated Article:

Congers woman dead after car jumps curb in New City

By STEVE LIEBERMAN

THE JOURNAL NEWS

(Original publication: September 28, 2007)

NEW CITY - A 78-year-old Congers woman sitting outside a restaurant with another senior citizen died yesterday after a car jumped a curb onto the sidewalk and crashed into their wood bench, pushing them into the restaurant's glass windows.

The 86-year-old driver and the two victims were planning to attend a luncheon at Pasta Cucina's catering facility honoring 80 volunteers with the Foster Grandparent program in Rockland County.

Irene "Pat" McDonnell died at Nyack Hospital at 12:04 p.m., about 90 minutes after the 10:30 a.m. crash at the Little Tor Road strip mall, Clarkstown police said.

John Sheehan, 72, of Valley Cottage was being treated at Nyack Hospital, but his injuries were not life threatening, Sgt. Harry Baumann said.

The driver, Sara Migdal of Suffern, will not be charged with a crime or issued summonses, Baumann said.

Migdal apparently stepped on the accelerator of her 1993 blue Toyota Tercel and lost control of the car, police said.

"This appears to be an unfortunate accident," Baumann said.

The crash shocked people who know the three senior citizens. Migdal was shaken up and declined to comment at the crash scene.

Migdal was tended to by Betty Meisler, director of the 28-year-old Foster Grandparent program.

Meisler said a day dedicated to honoring grandparents had turned into a tragedy.

"She's very upset, as you can imagine," Meisler said of Migdal, also a volunteer. "She doesn't really know what happened."

McDonnell volunteered with the program for 13 years, while Sheehan volunteered for three years. They worked with children at the Jesse Kaplan School, run by the Rockland Board of Cooperative Educational Services.

"This is a very sad day for everyone who knew Pat," BOCES spokeswoman Stephanie Gouss said. "Her presence had an incredibly positive impact on the Kaplan students and staff she worked with every day, and with the other foster grandparents in the program."

McDonnell and Sheehan were waiting for the luncheon to start at Pasta Cucina.

Migdal drove into the parking lot just before 10:30 a.m. and tried to park in a space less than 20 feet from the front door, police said.

"She was pulling into the parking spot and stepped on the gas," Sgt. Nicholas LaFasciano said. "The car went over the parking curb, onto the sidewalk and drove the two people on the bench back into the glass."

McDonnell's injuries were considered serious when the New City Ambulance Corps took her to Nyack Hospital, LaFasciano said.

Magdi Ayoub, 48, said he heard what sounded like an "explosion" while working inside his Goldberg's Bagels store, near Pasta Cucina in the strip mall.

Ayoub said he ran out of the store and immediately called 911.

"She made heavy breathing sounds," Ayoub said of McDonnell. "She was talking to people if someone asked her questions. They were hurt. This was very sad."

Baumann said he didn't think the accident reconstruction unit investigators determined the Tercel's speed.

"The car didn't have to be going at a high rate of speed, maybe 10 to 15 miles per hour," Baumann said.

Gouss said McDonnell and Sheehan were friends, both working with severely developmentally disabled children.

In a booklet on BOCES' 11 foster grandparents, McDonnell is quoted as saying, "The students give me a good feeling about life. I enjoy every minute with them.

"Since I started volunteering as a grandparent at Kaplan, I feel more about living and being around people," McDonnell said. "In other words, they gave me my life back."

About 80 volunteers were invited to yesterday's luncheon.

The crash closed the building. At the group's request, Pasta Cucina owners Randy Pioli and Scott Milich said, they moved the party to the restaurant next door on Little Tor Road.

The volunteers ate and were honored, but a lot of the joy went out of the celebration.

"I can't believe this happened," Meisler said. "This is terrible."

[Oswegowind 17]

Elderly errors during driving continue! Very Sad incident...that most likely could have been prevented. We don't let our elementary students drive to school, they take the bus...maybe things come full circle!

[Remember585 815]

I can recall two elderly driving accidents I've been to that always stick out in my mind.

1. Elderly person thought they were in reverse but it was drive and went thru a store wall.

2. Elderly person hit the gas instead of the brake and went down an embankment where he had to be extricated.

There's so many others, but those two stick out the most in my memory. We should complete driving tests every year after 65, every five years from 50-60, every ten years from 16-49. Can't hurt for us to make sure we know what we're doing even at a younger age, right?

Raise the driving age to 18 also, been to too many accidents and seen too many dead teenagers.

[brgold 0]

Again, another accident and fatality caused by elderly drivers, and again I have to wonder why any government, State or Federal, is not doing anything to combat it. I wonder if there is even anything on the docket in Congress about this. I mean seriously, when you get to the age where you mistake the gas for the break IT’S TIME TO STOP DRIVING!!! I understand the elderly wanting to stay independent and all but not only are they putting themselves at risk they are risking other lives as well. Maybe Florida will get fed up will everyone driving into farm stands every year and start something that other states will follow. Until then I’m going to watch out for those damn Oldsmobiles!

[Oswegowind 17]

I can recall two elderly driving accidents I've been to that always stick out in my mind.

1. Elderly person thought they were in reverse but it was drive and went thru a store wall.

2. Elderly person hit the gas instead of the brake and went down an embankment where he had to be extricated.

There's so many others, but those two stick out the most in my memory. We should complete driving tests every year after 65, every five years from 50-60, every ten years from 16-49. Can't hurt for us to make sure we know what we're doing even at a younger age, right?

Raise the driving age to 18 also, been to too many accidents and seen too many dead teenagers.

I remember the latter, in Amberlands, the house section (Croton's District). The guy went across a street, between two houses, through the rear yards, 50 yards into the woods, and then off a 8-10 foot embankment and ended up on his butt end! I remember saying, "Thank God the peoples kids weren't in the backyard!"

It won't ever stop, we will most likely read about either ourselves in 50 years, or our friends!