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VIDEO: Falling Bricks Nearly Hit Pedestrians After Rooftop Car Crash

By Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska | September 2, 2015 6:13pm
Falling Bricks Nearly Miss Pedestrians After Rooftop Car Crash
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Courtesy of Exo Cafe

QUEENS — A new surveillance video shows pedestrians on Austin Street narrowly escaping as dozens of bricks plummeted onto the sidewalk after a car crashed into a wall on a rooftop parking lot over the weekend.

“It was a miracle that nobody got hurt,” said Peter Kambitsis, the owner of Exo Cafe, at 70-20 Austin St., a popular restaurant in the neighborhood.

The crash happened just after 8 p.m. Sunday atop a two-story commercial building housing several businesses, including Exo Cafe.

The dramatic footage shows the bricks falling inches away from two people walking and eating ice cream on the sidewalk. The two pedestrians flee down Austin Street in panic, as dust billows from the collision. Seconds later several restaurant customers and employees run outside to see what happened.

 No one was injured in the incident that took place Sunday night, the FDNY said.
Rooftop Car Crash
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No one was injured in the crash, and the driver, who accidentally hit the gas instead of the brakes, refused medical attention, according to fire and police officials. The falling bricks damaged three cars. 

Exo Cafe had to be evacuated after the accident and remained closed the following day so that a sidewalk shed could be constructed, Kambitsis said, noting that he will cover the loss of income out of his own pocket.

Last year, Exo Cafe also sustained damage when a speeding snowplow slammed ice and debris into it.