2 men killed when crash sends car onto sidewalk in Upper Manhattan
NEW YORK -- A crash in Inwood on Wednesday morning killed two pedestrians and injured several other people. The two men were walking down Sherman Street when two cars collided, and one veered into them.
CBS2's Natalie Duddridge spoke to family and friends who were paying their respects at a memorial set up at the scene of the accident. They told her life can change in an instant.
"He was getting his hair cut. He was with the barber. The two that died, they were together. He just finished seeing his barber, walked down the street. Wrong place, wrong time, I guess," said Robert Gomez, a cousin of 31-year-old victim Joel Adames.
Family said Adames was getting an early morning haircut at 4 a.m. in order to look fresh for a birthday celebration later in the day. Friends say he and his barber were walking down the sidewalk not far from the barbershop when they were caught up in a multi-vehicle collision.
"The loud crash woke me up, looked out the window and I saw bystanders running over to the accident," Inwood resident Everson Sanchez said.
Police said a BMW was driving northbound on Sherman near 207th Street when it swerved into southbound lanes. colliding with a Subaru. The impact sent the vehicles into several other parked cars. The Subaru went up onto the sidewalk and careened into the two pedestrians, killing them.
Friends said the well-known barber, 40-year-old David Fernandez, was someone who you could call at all hours of the day for an appointment.
"He was my barber, too, since I was young. We always used to go to him. He was the best salsa dancer. That's one thing about him. When it came to dancing, he was a professional," Gomez said.
"One of the nicest kids in the neighborhood. Everybody know him. He was a barber, hard-working kid," a neighbor added.
Watch Natalie Duddridge's report
"I feel sad, man. I can't believe this happened to my friend," Isaac Canarios told CBS2's Nick Caloway. "He was a great person. He's always happy. He loved to dance salsa. Everybody in the neighborhood knew him."
Family said Adames worked as a delivery driver and recently applied to the MTA. He had a 1-year-old daughter.
"The best kid I ever met -- playing, laughs, jokes. It's hard," a woman named Marisol said through tears.
"He was well liked. He was a good guy. He loved his daughter, his family," another person added.
"It's just a tragic loss," Joshua McKenzie said.
Neighbors said they've been asking the city to make the stretch of road where the accident happened safer.
"This community tried to request adding speed bumps on Sherman Avenue. Apparently, the street is too wide to add speed bumps. They're looking to add another speed camera," Sanchez said.
According to the group Transportation Alternatives, there are no red-light cameras in the entire zip code where the crash happened, and they say that needs to change.
"The good news is that we actually have the proven solutions that we know can keep New Yorkers safe, and what we need is the political leadership to scale these solutions to every corner of the city," said Transportation Alternatives executive director Danny Harris.
There was no immediate word on whether speed or alcohol were factors in the accident. The NYPD's Collision Investigation Squad was still on the scene later Wednesday morning.
City officials say In the past five years, 36 people have been injured in collisions at the intersection, including 12 pedestrians and two cyclists.