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Car Injures 13 Pedestrians in New Jersey

By ANGELA DELLI SANTI
Associated Press Writer

April 19, 2003, 9:23 PM EDT


JERSEY CITY, N.J. -- A car accelerated out of control and plowed into a crowd exiting a Jehovah's Witnesses assembly on Saturday, injuring 13 people, police said. Three were seriously hurt.

The accident happened when a man waiting for his wife to exit the gathering was asked to move his car, said Jersey City Mayor Glenn Cunningham.

Henry Clax, 78, began to move his vehicle, but did not realize he had the car in reverse and backed into a car parked behind him. Cunningham said the Jersey City man apparently panicked, put his car in drive and accelerated, striking three lampposts and then the crowd.

Clax then swerved across lanes of traffic before hitting a tree.

"People were flying everywhere," said Kyler Close, who was one of the injured. "It was like watching a movie."

Cunningham said the injured included five children: two 14-year-olds, a 4-year-old, a 1-year-old and an 18-month-old. None of the toddlers' injuries were considered serious, the mayor said.

The driver suffered a broken hip and was in surgery Saturday night. The mayor said he was taking medication for various illnesses but was unsure if that had played a role it the accident.

An estimated 2,700 people were attending the first day of a two-day program at the Jehovah's Witnesses Hall in the former Stanley theater.

"This many people being injured in a religious service certainly doesn't make you feel good. We're fortunate it wasn't worse," Cunningham said
[This message was edited Mon Apr 21 5:56:50 PDT 2003 by dnaplaya]

Oh man, I hope not - I wouldnt wish such a thing on anyone