NYC taxi cab victim speaks out: ‘Didn’t even know what happened’
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(NEW YORK) — A 9-year-old boy visiting New York City for the holidays will remain hospitalized “for quite some time,” the boy’s mother said after they both were pinned by a taxi cab on Christmas Day.
“[It] hit us from behind. Didn’t even know what had happened,” the 41-year-old mother, who was visiting with her family from Australia, told New York ABC station WABC. “I just remember being on the ground and something on top of me. I could hear the wheels screeching and my son screaming next to me.”
The taxi cab jumped the curb and struck six pedestrians in Herald Square shortly after 4 p.m. on Christmas Day after the 58-year-old driver suffered a medical emergency, police said. All impacted pedestrians suffered non-life-threatening injuries, with three — including the mother and son — transported to area hospitals, officials said.
Witness Ryan Tucker told WABC that he and several other good Samaritans helped lift the cab off the mother and son after the crash.
“I ran over and noticed there was a little boy, his leg was underneath the front passenger tire as it was spinning,” Tucker told the station.
One man shut the car off, according to Tucker.
“There was a whole group of us that ripped the fender off, lifted the car back, and then that’s when I kind of grabbed the little boy,” Tucker told WABC.
Tucker, who was visiting from Oregon, told WABC that his wife was also struck by the taxi on her back shoulder. He said he ensured his wife was OK before joining others to help the mother and son.
The boy broke his right femur in the crash and has “severe” burns on his leg, his mother told WABC.
“He’s going to be in the hospital for quite some time,” she told the station.
“We were just here for Christmas holidays,” she added. “Christmas and New Year’s. Day three in the city and that happened.”
The taxi driver was transported to Bellevue for further evaluation. There is no criminality suspected, police said.
ABC News’ Victoria Arancio and Leah Sarnoff contributed to this report.
A judge has denied a motion to dismiss charges in the Uvalde, Texas, criminal case stemming from the 2022 mass shooting and has set a tentative trial date.
Former Uvalde school district police chief Pete Arredondo, who was the on-site commander at Robb Elementary School on the day of the shooting, and former school officer Adrian Gonzales appeared in court for a joint pretrial hearing on Thursday.
Arredondo faces 10 counts of child endangerment and abandonment on behalf of the injured and surviving children in classroom 112. Gonzales faces 29 counts: 10 counts for each surviving child and 19 for each deceased child. Arredondo and Gonzales have both pleaded not guilty.
Their charges stem from the May 24, 2022, mass shooting during which a gunman killed two teachers and 19 students at the elementary school. Law enforcement waited some 77 minutes at the scene before breaching a classroom and killing the gunman.
The judge on Thursday denied the motion to quash Arredondo’s indictment. The judge also set a tentative trial start date for October 2025.
Arredondo had filed a motion asking the court to declare his child endangerment indictment invalid, arguing the gunman was solely responsible for the shooting.
Arredondo has repeatedly defended his actions and told investigators he did not believe the gunman was an active shooter when he arrived. He also has insisted he was not in command of the police response.
The indictment alleges that despite having time to respond to the shooting, Gonzales failed to act to impede the gunman and failed to follow active shooter training by not advancing toward the gunfire.
Gonzales’ defense attorney, Nico LaHood, has said, “There was over 370 officers there. We have not seen or even heard of a theory of why Mr. Gonzales is being singled out.”
Families of victims and survivors who were in the courtroom Thursday said they were relieved the case is moving forward.
“It was hard being inside the courtroom while Pete was with his attorneys as we listened to their arguments about why he felt he wasn’t responsible for Jackie’s death,” said Gloria Cazares, whose 9-year-old daughter, Jackie, was killed. “After two and half years, it finally feels like things are progressing.”
During the hearing, attorneys discussed their frustration with their inability to receive an unredacted copy of a U.S. Customs and Border Protection report about the agency’s response to the Robb Elementary shooting.
To date, Arredondo and Gonzales are the only indicted law enforcement officers of the 376 officers who were among the police response to the shooting.
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(NEW YORK) — As the world gears up for 2025, it leaves behind a year of war, political shifts, pop culture moments, sporting triumphs, lost stars and more.
ABC News was there to chronicle every moment and will look back at this year’s defining events in a two-hour special, “The Year: 2024,” which airs Thursday, Dec. 26 at 9 p.m. ET, and streams afterwards on Hulu.
“Good Morning America” co-anchor Robin Roberts, who hosts the special, will be joined “World News Tonight” anchor and managing editor David Muir, “Good Morning America”‘s Michael Strahan and Lara Spencer, “ABC News Live Prime” and “World News Tonight” Sunday anchor Linsey Davis, “Nightline” co-anchor Juju Chang, “20/20” co-anchor Deborah Roberts and ABC News correspondent Will Reeve.
The special also includes commentary from ABC News anchors, correspondents and contributors, including ABC News’ powerhouse political team, co-hosts from “The View,” and more.
The special, now in its 14th year, also includes interviews with Elton John, Teddy Swims, Lisa Ann Walter, Ilona Maher and Stephen Nedoroscik and more.Here’s a taste of the topics featured in the special.
Obsessions
Taylor Swift was on our minds again this year, having released new album “Tortured Poet’s Department” and embarked on another leg of her record-breaking Eras tour. Charli XCX also dominated the summer when she declared “Kamala is brat” as Vice President Kamala Harris announced her candidacy for president.
In addition to the music of the year, the special also features the social and fashion trends of the year, and the films breaking box office records.
Breaking News
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump’s contentious race for the White House dominated the news for much of 2024. President Joe Biden’s debate performance, the assassination attempt on Trump, and Harris replacing Biden as the Democratic Party’s nominee and Trump’s eventual victory were the stories to watch.
The horrific, ongoing war between Israel and Gaza stretched into its second year, drawing in Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon. The war in Ukraine also passed 1,000 days, with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy signaling it’s time for peace talks with Russia.
Celebrity Romance
I do or I don’t? The special also explores how the love lives of some of our favorite stars evolved this year. Jennifer Lopez filed for divorce from Ben Affleck after two years of marriage, ending their kindled relationship. Natalie Portman also split from Black Swan choreographer Benjamin Millipied after 12 years.
t wasn’t all bad news on the celebrity relationship front though — Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s relationship captivated the world, Hailey and Justin Bieber had a baby boy and “Golden Bachelorette” Joan Vassos got engaged to Chock Chapple.
Law & Justice
The once and future president wasn’t the only prominent figure in court this year. ABC News’ experts explore music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs’ not guilty plea on sex trafficking and other charges, the Menendez brothers’ infamous 1989 murder case coming back in front of a judge and doomsday author Chad Daybell being sentenced to death for the triple murder of his family.
Can’t Miss Moments
Did you try the “Dancing with the Stars” viral leg lift? This was just one of the moments that had everyone talking this year. Other moments include the stunning solar eclipse, the tweet from Elmo sparking a conversation on mental health and the woman rescued after her semi-truck was left dangling over the Clark Memorial Bridge in Kentucky.
Breakout Stars
Actor Glen Powell was in the spotlight for much of 2024, earning critical acclaim for his performances in “Anyone But You,” “Hitman” and “Twisters.” On the TV front, Anna Sawai’s performance in Hulu’s historical drama “Shogun” earned her a Lead Actress Emmy. Co-star Hiroyuki Sanada netted the Lead Actor award, while the series took the win for Outstanding Drama.
Musically, Chappell Roan got us all dancing at the Pink Pony Club, while Sabrina Carpenter had the world craving a (certified platinum) Espresso. Shaboozey also announced that there’s a party downtown near 5th St., and got five Grammy nominations in the process.
Politics
In an election year, politics was at the center of many conversations. ABC’s correspondents look at how Republican Donald Trump overcame legal woes and an assassination attempt to win a second presidential term.
His Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, may have had superstar celebrity endorsements from Taylor Swift and Beyoncé, but it wasn’t enough to beat a resurgent Trump.
AI
The rise of artificial intelligence inspired fear in 2023, but 2024 saw the tech being integrated into the devices that we already have — the update likely added it into your phone, your laptop or your smart home.
AI has been used in myriad ways, from breakup texts to medical exploration and even driverless cars. The ABC team dives into them all.
In Memoriam
The world lost some of its shining stars this year. ABC News will celebrate the lives and legacies of Maggie Smith, Teri Garr, Carl Weathers. Donald Sutherland, Shelly Duvall, James Earl Jones, Kris Kristofferson, Quincy Jones, Liam Payne and more.
Champions
The 2024 Paris Olympics dominated sports over the summer. Swimmer Katie Ledecky became the most successful female Olympian in U.S. history and gymnast Simone Biles’ launched a comeback amid the other major successes of this year’s Games.
The special also highlights the triumphant story of the Hunter Woodhall and Tara Davis-Woodhall, the married couple taking home gold and capturing our hearts.
Beyond the Olympics, the Kansas City Chiefs won back-to-back Super Bowls, the New York Liberty took home its first championship title and the LA Dodgers became Major League Baseball’s World Series champions.
(CHICAGO) — A woman has been accused of a hate crime after she allegedly targeted a man wearing a “Palestine” sweatshirt at an Illinois Panera Bread, authorities said.
Alexandra Szustakiewicz, 64, was at a Panera in Downers Grove, a Chicago suburb, around noon on Saturday when she saw a man wearing a sweatshirt that said “Palestine” on it, the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office said. She allegedly confronted him and started yelling expletives, prosecutors said.
When a woman who was with the man started taking video of the confrontation, Szustakiewicz allegedly tried to hit the phone out of the woman’s hand, prosecutors said.
Szustakiewicz, a Darien resident, was taken into custody the next day and is accused of committing “a hate crime by reason of perceived national origin,” prosecutors said.
“This type of behavior is not and will never be tolerated in our community,” Downers Grove Chief of Police Michael DeVries said in a statement.
Downers Grove is about 23 miles west of Chicago.
“Every member of society, regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation or any other individual characteristic, deserves to be treated with respect and civility,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin added.
Szustakiewicz made her first court appearance on Monday on two counts of hate crime and one count of misdemeanor disorderly conduct, authorities said.
