A driver hit a woman as she was taking her infant nephew out of her car on Staten Island early Monday, crushing her leg, police and neighbors say.
Police are looking for a brown Jeep Cherokee after the driver allegedly hit 37-year-old Monique Knight on Westervelt Avenue just after midnight Monday, then sped off.
Knight had just parked her car and was taking her 4-month-old nephew out when she was hit, police said. Witness Reginald Van Dyke rushed to help and found the infant on the floor of the car, along with another child inside, he told News 4.
Knight is a mother of three who had gone to an amusement park with the children earlier in the day, according to a family friend who heard the crash and ran to the scene.
"It sounded like the impact of two cars colliding," said Shanelle Browning. "Monique was very strong. She stood there, she didn't cry. She kept it cool for the kids. The kids were freaking out."
Browning said Knight tossed her nephew back into the car when she heard the Jeep coming toward her.
Van Dyke helped get both of the children out of the vehicle. He said he found the runaway vehicle's license plate in the middle of the street, along with car parts, a shoe and a stuffed animal. He turned over the plate to police.
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"It was upside down. It just looked like a piece of metal," he said.
Knight was taken to the hospital where she underwent surgery on her leg, according to Browning.
Police haven't released the plate number.
