Fordham Heights: Car Overturns as Driver Reportedly Tries to Avoid Hitting Toddler, Hits Her Anyway

By SÍLE MOLONEY

AN CAR IS seen on its side on East 179th Street close to the corner with Webster Avenue in Fordham Heights, after a driver allegedly swerved to avoid hitting a toddler but ended up hitting her anyway on Friday, Oct. 11, 2024.
Photo courtesy of the Citizens’ App

A witness said the driver of a car crashed, turning on its side in the Fordham Heights section of The Bronx on Friday night, Oct. 11, reportedly in efforts to avoid striking a young toddler but allegedly hit her anyway.

A representative from the FDNY said the department received a call at 8.08 p.m. on Friday evening for a report of a motor vehicle accident at East 179th Street and Webster Avenue.

POLICE ARE SEEN at the site of a motor vehicle collision in which a pedestrian toddler was struck ouside the Alden Hotel, located at the corner of Webster Avenue and East 179th Street in Fordham Heights on the evening of Friday, Oct. 11, 2024.
Photo courtesy of the Citizens’ App

They said EMS transported two patients to St. Barnabas Hospital following the collision and their descriptions and conditions are unknown.

Norwood News spoke to some local residents after the accident on Friday evening and asked them if they knew what happened. One young man who declined to be identified said a car was turning onto East 179th Street from Webster Avenue when the accident occurred. “It hit the baby,” he said.

Asked which baby, the young man said a young female toddler he estimated was about 3 years of age who he said had been running back and forth on the street.

Asked how badly the child was hurt, the young man said, “The baby was knocked out.” In reference to the image posted to the Citizens’ App of an upside down car, we asked if the car driver had swerved to try to avoid hitting the child, and the young man said, “Yeah.”

THE ALDEN HOTEL is located at the corner of Webster Avenue and East 179th Street in Fordham Heights, where a car driver allegedly swerved to avoid hitting a toddler as it turned onto East 179th Street and allegedly hit the female toddler anyway. One witness said the toddler had allegedly been running back and forth on the street outside the hotel on the evening of Friday, Oct. 11, 2024.
Photo by Síle Moloney

Asked if the driver was hurt, the young man said, “The driver was brought to the hospital too [along with the little girl]. The young man’s mother added that the child had been playing on the street before the accident had happened.

A number of other young families and young kids were seen seemingly socialising on the corner of East 179th Street and Webster Avenue, outside the Alden Hotel, late on Friday night.

THE ALDEN HOTEL is located at the corner of Webster Avenue and East 179th Street in Fordham Heights, where a car reportedly swerved to avoid hitting a toddler as it turned onto enter East 179th Street but allegedly hit the female toddler anyway who was allegedly running back and forth outside on the street on the evening of Friday, Oct. 11, 2024.
Photo by Síle Moloney

Norwood News asked most of the adults present if they had seen what happened in terms of the accident. Speaking in Spanish, most said they have not or had arrived after the fact.

We also asked the employees working in the reception area inside the hotel along with other residents in the area if they had witnessed the incident, and all said they had not.

AT THE JUNCTION of Webster Avenue and East 179th Street in Fordham Heights, a car reportedly swerved to avoid hitting a toddler as it turned to enter East 179th Street but reportedly hit the toddler anyway who was allegedly running back and forth outside on the street on the evening of Friday, Oct. 11, 2024.
Photo by Síle Moloney

We asked the NYPD press office if they had any further information about the incident and they said they do not have the details yet. We will share further information as we receive it.

We’ve also asked NYC Department of Social Services (DSS) if the Alden Hotel is used to house immigrant families. We will share any updates we receive.

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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.