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Wednesday, December 03, 2014

Girl dead, pregnant mom injured after struck by van in Brooklyn 

A minivan driven by a valet slammed into a 10-year-old girl and her pregnant mother in Brooklyn Tuesday night — killing the girl and sending the mother to the hospital, where she delivered a healthy baby girl, police said.

Blimi Friedman and her mother, Suri Friedman, 33, were crossing 60th St. midblock between 17th Ave. and 18th Ave. in Borough Park when they were hit by a gray Honda Odyssey driven by Bilal Ghumman, 22, at around 9 p.m., police said.

The mother, apparently pinned under the vehicle, remained conscious after the collision and screamed for her severely injured daughter as both lay on the ground, witnesses said.

"We saw the lady and her child on the ground. She was in shock," said witness Angel Santos, 18, who was walking to a bodega when he came upon the scene. "She was still on the ground. She was screaming, 'Oh my God, is (she) OK? Is (she) OK?'"

The frantic woman was also grasping her belly, apparently in the first throes of labor, witnesses said.

"She was holding her stomach, she looked like she was in pain," said Jasmine Torres, 19.

Volunteer emergency responders from the Hatzolah service extracted the mother from under the minivan, then rushed Blimi to Maimonides Medical Center with severe trauma, but the girl could not be saved, according to police.

Friedman was taken to Lutheran Medical Center where her baby girl was born, police said. The mother and baby were both in stable condition and the birth did not appear to have any complications, according to police.

Members of the Orthodox Jewish community gathered at the hospital early Wednesday.

Ghumman was working as a valet and was supposed to park the minivan, but instead had taken it to a nearby store, police sources said. After hitting the pair, he was taken into custody at the scene for an outstanding marijuana warrant, sources said. He was later charged with unauthorized use of a vehicle without the owner's consent.

Santos said Ghumman appeared stunned.

"He was in shock, too, he kept saying, 'Oh my God, I hit someone,'" the witness said.

Ghumman was administered a Breathalyzer test at the scene, but did not have any alcohol in his system, police said.

The mother and daughter were 10 blocks from their Borough Park home when they were hit, sources said.



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