EAST ELMHURST — A group of men dragged a business owner into their minivan in broad daylight Saturday and beat her repeatedly before tossing her out when they they realized she had no cash, sources said.
The woman, who runs a Queens car service, was biking from her gym about 11:25 a.m. Saturday when the group of four or five men rammed her with their Honda Odyssey near 73-20 30th Ave., cops and sources said.
They then hopped out of the green minivan and snatched the screaming woman off the street in full view of witnesses, which included a woman walking her dog, police and neighbors said.
They tied the 52-year-old woman with zip ties, blindfolded her and sped off, according to the NYPD.
"Where is the money?" they demanded as they beat her, police said.
As they assaulted her, she told them she had no cash on her because she had just come from the gym, sources said.
After 20 minutes, they threw her from the van in front of 32-48 98th St., about 1 and 1/2 miles away, and drove off empty-handed, police said.
The victim survived the attack with minor injuries to her lip, arm and knee, a police spokesman said.
Lenny Javier, the victim's neighbor, said that she was frequently seen walking her three dogs around the neighborhood.
Cops described one of the suspects as about 280 pounds, 35 years old and about 5 feet 10 inches tall.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS (8477).
