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Hit-and-run driver who allegedly struck mom and toddler in NYC flips van in botched getaway

A fast getaway attempt nearly cost a driver his life after his alleged reign of destruction through a Brooklyn neighborhood ended in a high-speed crash that flipped his minivan on its side, briefly pinning the man underneath. Police said the 61-year-old driver was speeding from the scene of a hit-and-run in Brownsville where he had allegedly struck a 26-year-old woman and 3-year-old toddler Saturday. The woman had been pushing her stroller near Rockaway Parkway and Winthrop Street around 4 p.m., according to cops. The van driver didn't stick around, and instead floored on the gas and took off. He appeared to make it a handful of blocks before surveillance video seemingly caught him smashing into two parked cars on Blake Avenue. Cell phone video from the scene showed neighbors working together to push the van upright and rescue the driver who was still pinned in the driver's seat. Danny Square, a delivery driver, was at both scenes Saturday. He told News 4 he witnessed the van driver strike the pedestrians and a car before making a U-turn and taking off. Square decided to follow the man. "I don't know where he was going, he tried to hit someone and flee so I had to chase him," Square explained. That same bit of surveillance video that captured the crash and end to the driver's destructive spree also caught Square pulling up on his bike. After helping out at the scene, Square said something inside the minivan caught his eye.

Police said Olubunmi Awoluyi, 61, was driving drunk down Rockaway Parkway in Brooklyn on Saturday when he plowed his minivan into two parked vehicles, CBS News reports.

He then allegedly made a U-turn, struck a 26-year-old woman and a 3-year-old girl, and sped off.

The woman had been pushing her stroller near Rockaway Parkway and Winthrop Street in the Brownsville section around 4 p.m., cops said.

The child suffered only minor injuries, according to police, but the mother was unconscious and unresponsive when first responders arrived.

Both were taken to a local hospital and were last reported to be in stable condition. They are expected to make a full recovery.

Awoluyi appeared to make it a few blocks before surveillance video seemingly caught him smashing into two parked cars on Blake Avenue, NBC reports.

Surveillance video shows the minivan speeding down the street, slamming into the side of a parked Jeep and pushing it onto the sidewalk, overturning onto the driver’s side and striking a parked pickup truck before screeching to a halt.

The minivan appeared to already have a damaged hood before it crashed into the parked vehicles.

Awoluyi was charged with DWI, reckless driving and leaving the scene of an accident, police said.

Cellphone video showed neighbors working together to push the van upright and rescue the driver, who was still pinned in the driver’s seat.

“[The driver] was bleeding out of his mouth. There was blood on the road. It was kinda scary watching somebody being pinned and being crushed,” Eudes James told CBS News.

“When the firefighter opened the door on the scene, that’s when the liquor bottle fell out,” witness Shanique Fox told the outlet.

Delivery driver Danny Square told News 4 he followed the driver of the minivan after he witnessed him strike the pedestrians and a car.

“When the firefighter opened the door on the scene, that’s when the liquor bottle fell out,” witness Shanique Fox told the outlet.

“He was drunk because we find in his car three bottles of open Hennessy bottles,” he told the outlet.

The driver was taken into custody after crashing his vehicle.

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