Food delivery driver Arianna Agudo sat dumbfounded in horror as the nightmare unfolded: A murderous white man in an SUV, plowed down the Queens sidewalk toward 20 young Black Lives Matters protesters.
“He hit the gas and went really fast, trying to run over anyone who got in his way,” the witness told the Daily News of the horrific attack Tuesday afternoon on the Cross-Island Highway overpass, where activists — some cried in the street. streets — all without death or disabling injury.
Police are still searching for the wild-eyed, white-haired getaway driver, who initially left his vehicle brandishing two long silver knives and two smaller knives attached to his right hand in a scene reminiscent of the retractable claws of the comic book character Wolverine.
Agudo, who recorded the scene on her phone when she happened to be stopped at a red light, was as shocked as the lucky survivors.
“I even cried after that,” the 22-year-old said on Wednesday. “I was socked.”
The rear license plate of the SUV is clearly captured in Agudo’s video as the man sped away from the scene after trying to knock people out in the peaceful crowd. Young protester screams after fleeing as the SUV takes off.
As the video begins, the smoking man leaves his SUV with knives drawn and attacks a protester, shouting at the man before dashing back to his parked car and Drive to the other end of the overpass. The angry driver made a quick U-turn before climbing onto the curb and targeting protesters lined up along the sidewalk.
“You chose the wrong neighborhood, b—-!” he yelled at a woman on the street, holding up his middle finger for a few seconds before hitting the gas.
Overpass, on the corner of Clintonville St. and the ramp into the Cross-Island Parkway, which exploded in terror as protesters scrambled for safety signs formerly hung on the overpass since Minneapolis police killed an unarmed black man George Floyd last week.
The deranged driver sped toward Francis Lewis Blvd. Agudo said as some of the survivors were shaking and crying in the aftermath of the attack.
Avayana Marcano, who returned to the site on Wednesday with protester Francesca Griffin, said: “It is disgusting that an ordinary neighbor could be offended by people exercising Amendment rights. the first sentence so much that he wanted to kill them. “We’re very worried, but it’s worth it because people in this neighborhood don’t know what’s going on.”
Two college freshmen said they feared the armed attacker might return but were excited by the positive reactions from many motorists passing by the site. Some locals even stopped by to get water for the two young girls.
“Some people have come to thank us for what we are doing,” Griffin said. “But it’s mixed. Some people are supportive, and some people are racist.”
An online petition calling on authorities to track down the driver has attracted hundreds of signatures after it was posted online early Wednesday.
The same location was targeted earlier in the week by a young white man who spewed racist comments while tearing down BLM signs posted by protesters hanging over an overpass . The confrontation was captured on video as City University of New York alum Anthony Abbica tore off handmade signs from a wire display overlooking the highway below.
“It’s disgusting,” he told one of the protesters who asked him what he was doing. “I don’t want you f—ers in my f—ing town.”
When one of the protesters called the man racist, he replied, “Yeah, and?”
The man, who appeared on social media, was also caught in a Snapchat chat with racist and homophobic slurs – apparently before the signs were removed.
“Suppose you lived in a pretty little town like Whitestone, wouldn’t you?” he asks. “And you see some obese people, maybe half white, half white, mixed n—-r. He’s putting Black Lives Matter signs on your damn overpass. You can’t have that at Whitestone.
