Sep 26 - Teens' parade terror

Teens' parade terror



BY ADAM LISBERG and TONY SCLAFANI
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS


Hispanic Parade marcher comforts injured teen as she's rushed to ambulance from Jackson Heights accident scene.

An out-of-control SUV plowed into five teen beauty pageant contestants at a Queens parade yesterday, leaving a path of broken bones and bruised bodies, police said.
The Miss Taxi International hopefuls were getting ready to march in the Hispanic Parade in Jackson Heights when the vehicle, driven by a beauty pageant organizer who accidentally hit the gas, clipped them from behind and dragged at least two underneath his vehicle, police said.

"Everybody was screaming," said Lucia Martinez, 46, who witnessed the 12:30 p.m. incident.

More than a dozen paradegoers on 70th St. near 35th Road rushed over, lifted the SUV and helped free the trapped teens, Martinez said.

"I got hit on my left side," said Stephanie Giraldo, 16, a Miss Taxi candidate.

Police said the driver, Hugo Portella, a Miss Taxi organizer, sped into the group of 15 or so girls when he inadvertently stepped on the gas instead of the brake. He was not cited.

Witnesses said Portella, 61, wailed uncontrollably when he saw the damage.

"He was in shock," Martinez said. "He said, 'I hope nobody was killed.' He was crying. He was so nervous."

The most seriously hurt were a 16-year-old girl who suffered a fractured ankle and a second 16-year-old who suffered a possible fractured leg, cops said. Both were in stable condition at Elmhurst Hospital Center.

The other three girls hit by the SUV, ages 14 to 17, suffered bumps and bruises, including a 15-year-old girl who sprained her ankle.The bevy of teen beauties, all wearing sleeveless pink and white shirts, were set to participate in the 16th annual Hispanic Parade, a 20-block festival along 37th Ave. that features dancers and singers.


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