One man was killed and six others were injured when an elderly woman overturned her car at a diner at a luxury Miami Beach restaurant as she tried to park side by side, leaving frightened employees and customers struggling to rescue those trapped below, including a child.
Video taken by 13-year-old twins Miles and Noah Britton, of Vermont, shows the moments immediately after the tragic accident. An older Bentley can be seen scattered across the sidewalk of Washington Avenue in modern-day South Beach as customers and employees crash into the back of the car, where a three-year-old boy and “several” others were trapped under a heavy car.
“A car just crashed here,” one of the twins can be heard shouting in the video. “Give them a little space, give them a little space.”
A crowd of people tried to pick up the car from “several people” and managed to do so, according to Miles, who spoke with WSVN.
“Everyone’s starting to move things out of the way and everything, and they’ve pushed enough to get the man out,” Miles told WSVN. “I was very surprised that this happened right in front of me.”
Another witness told in detail about the moment when the little boy was taken out from under the car. Robert DeBorough said WPLG 10“There was a little boy and several people trapped under the vehicle. We grabbed the vehicle – a bunch of people grabbed the vehicle – and counted one, two, three and picked up the vehicle, and a waiter inside pulled out a young boy and in minutes – seconds really – the police were here and the ambulances were here. ‘
Employees and customers rushed to push a car from “several people”, including a three-year-old boy, after an unidentified elderly woman crashed into a restaurant after pressing the gas instead of the brake in a parallel parking lot in Miami Beach.
People rushed to the car to help as tables and drinks were dumped on the ground.
Another witness, Robert Witnesses, said on social media that dozens of police and ambulances had arrived at the scene. An aerial video posted on Twitter also shows an entourage of flashing lights and emergency vehicles rushing to the scene.
The incident happened shortly after 6 pm in front of the Italian restaurant Call Me Gaby, leaving tables overturned and napkins scattered on the sidewalk.
As the elderly female driver retreated into space, she accelerated without warning and crashed into several tables, cops said.
A long line of ambulances rushed to the restaurant, where seven were injured
Police did not identify the driver and did not say whether charges would be filed.
A witness, Clement Lotier, shared a video showing smoke and people fleeing the restaurant.
Seven people were taken to hospital, including a three-year-old boy, many on stretchers. One of them later died of his wounds.
A car that appears to be a Bentley can be seen on the sidewalk, surrounded by police lane
An elderly woman parking in front of Call Me Gaby (pictured) lost control of the car she was driving and crashed into a diner eating out
Police tape was quickly laid along Washington Avenue and the road was closed to drivers
Miami Beach police posted details of the incident on Twitter on Wednesday night
Police have not identified the victim or any of the injured.
“I never eat outside a busy street restaurant again, I just watched a car come back to people eating out in Miami Beach,” Ryan wrote on Twitter.
The street eventually had to be closed while police and other first aid services conducted an investigation. Local 10.
A Twitter user tweeted about his shock at witnessing the drama
Washington Street in Miami Beach was closed after the incident
Miami Beach police are instructing the public to avoid the area that was closed due to the investigation, NBC Miami reports.
Three hours after the crash, tables overturned, cloth napkins and evidence markers lined the sidewalk in front of the restaurant.
Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber called it a “devastating tragedy.”
“Our entire city mourns all the victims and their families,” he said in a statement.
DailyMail.com tried to contact Miami Beach Police and Call Me Gaby for comment.