A 9-year-old girl is dead after an upstate man fleeing a traffic stop in Canarsie slammed into two vehicles.
Police stopped the 62-year-old man on Remsen Avenue and Avenue L just before 5 pm because his Honda Odyssey matched the description of a vehicle involved in a hit-and-run at 4:52 pm that day, but he fled the officers, driving two blocks south before smashing into a Hyundai Elantra with three passengers and a Toyota Sienna with two passengers — both vehicles were travelling westbound on Avenue N, law enforcement sources said.
Rebecca Ramnarine, a 9-year-old from Queens, who was riding in the Hyundai, succumbed to her injuries. An eye-witness who saw emergency crews pull victims from the wreck said the grizzly scene foretold the fatal outcome.
“I knew she was dead,” said Rose Marshall, who lives across the street from where the accident happened. “She was badly hurt. There was blood coming down her face.”
The victims were taken to Brookdale Hospital, where Ramnarine was pronounced dead and the other four were admitted with minor injuries, police said.
Police arrested the man, who fled from the crash on foot, Marshall said. He was charged with criminally negligent homicide, leaving the scene of an accident, and aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle. His attorney could not be reached for comment.
Marshall said the carnage left a lasting impression on her.
“I was given nightmares,” said Marshall. “I couldn’t sleep all night until 4 am.”
