Out-of-Control SUV Jumps Curb, Kills Man Sitting on Park Bench in NYC: Police

A man died after an out-of-control SUV driven by an allegedly drunk driver slammed into him Wednesday afternoon as he sat on a park bench on Staten Island, police said.

The man was sitting on the bench just before 2:30 p.m. as the SUV was traveling southbound on Bay Street at Victory Boulevard in the Tompkinsville section of Staten Island. The 25-year-old driver apparently clipped another car, lost control of the vehicle, jumped a curb and hit the man, who was sitting in Tompkinsville Park, authorities said.

Bystanders Ron Gibson and John Childs, who were inside the park, rushed to help the driver before realizing the SUV had landed on top of someone on the bench.

"We looked down, see a pair of legs, and there was a gentleman laying there," Childs said. 

Gibson said they pulled him out headfirst and laid him on the ground, but it was clear the victim was very critically injured. 

The man, identified as 57-year-old David Craig, was taken to Richmond University Hospital. He died from his injuries Wednesday evening.

The SUV's driver, Oriamor Benson of Staten Island, was arrested on a DWAI charge. Gibson and Childs said she didn't appear seriously hurt when they pulled her from the vehicle. 

"All she kept saying was, 'Thank you, thank you, thank you,'" said Childs. 

Information on Benson's attorney wasn't immediately available. Her arraignment was deferred pending toxicology results, a spokesman for the Richman County district attorney's office said.  

The driver of the car clipped by Benson was not hurt. He was walking around as he talked to investigators. 

The horrific accident has shaken the two men who tried to help.

"It's very scary. You could be waiting for a bus one minute, the next you'll be dead," said Childs.

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