A Maspeth woman was arrested and charged with driving under the influence and other crimes after she slammed her SUV into a school crossing guard on Tuesday afternoon.
Police from the 104th Precinct responded to a 911 call of a motor vehicle collision involving a pedestrian at the intersection of Eliot Avenue and 71st Street at around 3 p.m. on Sept. 26. Upon their arrival, officers found the 63-year-old woman lying on the roadway with trauma to her head. EMS responded to the scene and rushed the crossing guard to Elmhurst Hospital in critical but stable condition, according to the NYPD.
A preliminary investigation determined that the crossing guard was helping children from Our Lady of Hope Catholic Academy cross the notorious stretch of Eliot Avenue in Maspeth when she was struck by a Mercedes Benz SUV before it crashed into a nearby tree. The victim had her back turned to the vehicle when it crashed into her.
Sinead Welsh, 51, of Claran Court in Maspeth, remained on the scene and was taken into custody a short while later and booked at the 104th Precinct, where she was charged with reckless endangerment, operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs and refusing to take a breath test, the NYPD spokesman said.
Councilman Robert Holden took to social media in the evening to update his concerned constituents on the condition of the injured crossing guard saying that she was in stable condition.
“Sending love and positive thoughts to her and the entire Our Lady of Hope community,” Holden said.
The investigation remains ongoing, according to the NYPD.