Yesterday afternoon, a driver with a suspended license was backing up on Amsterdam Avenue to get a parking space and struck two women crossing the street at West 98th Street. Yolanda Casal, 78, was pronounced dead at the hospital while the other woman, her 41-year-old daughter Anais Emanuel, was in stable condition. A witness told the Post, "They had the right of way and that guy just kept backing up. He was trying to get that spot."
Other witnesses say that Casal's body flew in the air after being struck. She suffered severe head trauma. Emanuel suffered many broken ribs. The driver, Edwin Carrasco, 38, of Paterson, NJ, stayed at the scene and was charged with driving with a suspended license, unsafe backing and failure to exercise due care.
The witness, David Gomez, also spoke to WABC 7, "[Casal] was bleeding profusely. He could have waited for that parking spot. I don't even think he looked."
