Photos: Six Car Accident On Ocean Ave Puts Three In Hospital

Barbara H. was about to take the garbage out of her apartment on Ocean Avenue, just off Avenue U, when the phone rang. She chatted for a bit, hung up the phone, picked up the bag and made for the door.

That’s when she heard what she described as an “explosion.”

“I just heard crashing and screaming. Like I’ve never heard before, there was screaming,” Barbara said.

She looked out the window and she saw what looked like a war scene out of a movie. Cars were shredded and on the sidewalk. People were screaming and running to the scene. A man sat on the sidewalk, bleeding. Two vehicles were smashed up on the sidewalk against the fence for the building’s garbage receptacles, exactly where she would’ve been standing had a friend not called.

“Talk about timing,” she said. “It would’ve been me.”

It wasn’t a war scene that Barbara saw out of her window. It was an accident that involved six cars, and left three people including a pedestrian hospitalized.

A white Infiniti QX56 was one of the vehicles now plastered against the fence. It was also the culprit in the accident, according to witnesses and emergency responders.

The owner of one of the vehicles damaged, a Mercedes S550, said he was driving southbound in the right lane on Ocean Avenue when he saw the Infiniti speeding north down the striped median, heading for the left turn lane. He estimated the car was doing about 60 miles per hour when the driver swerved into oncoming traffic.

The Infiniti slammed into a maroon Nissan Altima, leaving a chunk of his bumper in the Altima’s windshield and ripping open its side. The Altima nipped the Mercedes, while the Infiniti continued on. It careened into a row of park vehicles, nicking one and tossing the other – a BMW 525i – into the same gate that eventually forced the Infiniti to come to a halt. An Acura parked behind the BMW took a chunk of the momentum out of the impact, crushing its hood.

The driver and passanger of the Altima were hospitalized, as was a pedestrian on the sidewalk. Their conditions are unknown, but a firefighter on the scene said he didn’t think there were any major injuries.

Many of the vehicle owners were on the scene surveying the damage with a dazed look.

“This car has so much sentimental value,” said Ada Serrano, the owner of the Acura. Serrano was working across the street when she heard the crash. “My son passed away a year ago and he gave it to us. We just had it fixed up.”

The BMW belonged to the owner of the Cigar Palace on Avenue U. He came to the scene immediately and saw his car up against the fence.

“He was thinking what a lucky guy he was to find a spot so close to the store,” a nearby firefighter joked as Sheepshead Bites interviewed the owner.

But it’s nothing new to that intersection, according to Barbara. The corner is an accident hot spot begging for some Department of Transportation relief, she said.

“This is horrible. Every day there’s an accident here,” Barbara said. “Every day. Every other minute.”

Several of the photos below were submitted by Randy Contello. Thanks to all the readers who sent in tips and photos. If you see something you think neighbors should know about, e-mail tips [at] sheepsheadbites [dot] com.