NJ woman hearing ‘voices’ hits 7 people on NYC street, police say

🚨 Seven people were struck late Sunday night on West 36th Street at Sixth Avenue

🚨 The car driven kept going and got into a crash on the LIE

🚨 The woman charged told her mother she was hearing voices, a report says

A New Jersey woman is charged with seven counts of attempted murder after running a red light and hitting seven people including an Italian couple on their honeymoon in a Manhattan crosswalk late Sunday night, according to police.

Imani Lucas, 29, was driving a 2013 Honda Accord east on West 36th Street and went through the intersection with 6th Avenue around 11:50 p.m. striking six males and one female, the NYPD said in a statement.

Video obtained by CBS New York shows the car just before it hits a group waiting to cross at the crosswalk.

The Accord continued eastbound on West 36th Street toward the Queens Midtown Tunnel. Approximately 30 minutes later, the Honda crashed into two vehicles on the Long Island Expressway in the vicinity of 188th Street, within the confines of the 111th Precinct in Queens. Lucas was taken into custody at the crash scene.

Four males and a female were taken to NYC Health and Hospitals/Bellevue in stable condition. A 32-year-old male was transported to New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center in stable condition. A 30-year-old male refused medical attention at the scene, according to the NYPD. The identities of the victims were not disclosed.

Lucas was also charged Monday with seven counts each of assault, reckless endangerment, leaving the scene of an accident and reckless driving.

Hearing voices

The NYPD gave a New York City address for Lucas but her mother, Melissa Lucas told the Gothamist she was living with her in the Belle Mead section of Montgomery Township. She worked in New York City and was working towards her independence while working through a bipolar disorder.

Melissa Lucas said spoke to her daughter after the crash and said she heard voices.

La Voce di New York, an Italian-language daily newspaper, reported that Italian tennis coach Giulia Gardani was one of those who was struck. He had five hours of surgery on his cervical spine, according to the report.  The news site Today World reported he was on his delayed honeymoon with Matteo Maj two years after their wedding in 2020.

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