Car Jumps Curb, Slams Into Manhattan Bank at Height of Lunch Rush

A car jumped the curb and slammed into a TD Bank in Manhattan at the height of the lunch rush Wednesday, according to authorities and witnesses.

The car crashed into several parked vehicles before smashing into the bank on Third Avenue near East 85th Street on the Upper East Side shortly before 1 p.m., authorities said.

Brad Drobnis, whose car was among the ones hit by the out-of-control vehicle, said he was inside a store at the time of the crash, heard the chaos and ran outside to see what happened. He said a woman was behind the wheel of the white car that plowed into the bank.

Photos from the scene showed an extensive emergency presence surrounding the white car, part of which was inside the bank. Fire trucks were on the scene as emergency crews surrounded the car and the area was cordoned off with yellow police tape. The sidewalk was littered with pieces of the smashed plate glass windows.

Police haven't publicly said what may have caused the crash, but Drobnis told NBC 4 New York, "One of the officers told me they think she blacked out, so when she hit the gas to go into reverse, she floored it. And that's why she ended going on the sidewalk, cutting in front of my car and going through the bank window." 

Nobody was hurt, according to police. Witnesses said the woman who drove into the bank was talking and walking around after the crash.  Neighbors say the area is usually packed with people in the afternoon. 

"This is horrible. Somebody could have gotten killed," said one woman. 

-- Gus Rosendale contributed to this report 

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