LOWER EAST SIDE — A 5-year-old crossing the street was struck by a minivan in a crosswalk and momentarily pinned under the front wheel, according to witnesses and fire officials.
The boy was conscious and not bleeding when he was taken to Bellevue Hospital just after 11 a.m., according to witnesses and fire officials.
The driver, who remained at the scene, was turning left onto Rivington Street from Norfolk Street.
"Too small, I didn't see [him]," said Han Uei, 40, "I'm really nervous."
Witnesses described a chaotic scene after the accident.
"I heard a scream and I saw the child partially underneath the tire," said Michael Margolies, 62, who works at a summer program which the boy attends. The child had his back turned to traffic when he was struck, he said.
Other staff at the summer program declined to comment on the incident and would not give the program's name. Staffers said the summer program is held at the school campus on the corner of Rivington and Norfolk streets.
It was not immediately clear whether the boy was accompanied in the crosswalk or whether he was crossing alone. No parents or guardians were at the scene.
The owner of Tiny's Giant Sandwich Shop on the corner, rushed out onto the street when he heard the commotion.
"It had him pinned under the front wheel," Dave Currence, 39, said. "He was totally silent for a couple of minutes then he started crying and trying to move."
"There's a school or a daycare literally on every block in this neighborhood," he added.
The NYPD had no information about the collision. The driver left in the van after being questioned by police.
