10-Year-Old Girl Dies, Pregnant Mother Is Injured After Being Hit By Minivan Driver In Borough Park

We have some tragic news from the 66th Precinct: A man who police said stole a minivan from his workplace’s valet parking garage hit a 10-year-old girl and her pregnant mother as they crossed 60th Street near 18th Avenue just before 9pm last night, killing the girl and injuring the woman, who the Daily News reported gave birth following the accident.

Bilal Ghumman, 22, of Coney Island, was charged with unauthorized use of a vehicle and violation of local law (which the New York Post reported was for a marijuana-related offense) after the NYPD said he swiped a minivan from the valet parking lot at a catering hall at 54th Street and 15th Avenue. The Post reported Ghumman allegedly stole the vehicle to run an errand, and police said he was turning left from 18th Avenue onto 60th Street when he hit the 10-year-old girl, who police identified as Blima Friedman, of Borough Park, and her 33-year-0ld mother, Suri Friedman.

Ghumman remained at the scene and was taken into custody, police said.

From the Daily News:

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?'”

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.

The mother was rushed to Lutheran Medical Center, where she gave birth to a baby girl, according to police. Both the baby and Suri Friedman are listed in stable condition.

The Yeshiva World News reported that the sister of the girl who died last night was seriously injured in a fire in 2009, but she thankfully made a “full recovery after a long period of time in hospitals and rehab facilities.”

Our thoughts go out to the Friedman family.