By Jeff Lipton
Police said the investigation is continuing, but the crash appears to have been an accident.
The driver, identified as Sidney Weinstein of Valley Lane West, was double-parked inside his dark blue van at a bus stop on Sixth Avenue in Manhattan at 5 p.m. when a police officer ordered him to move, police said.
Police said the request may have caused panic in Weinstein, who abruptly took off across Sixth Avenue and 34th Street, barreling into pedestrians, many of them holiday shoppers, and pinning some against a Queens bus. Cops were investigating whether his gas pedal got stuck.
The accident was called the deadliest in a decade in the city.
The dead were tentatively identified as G. Gregory Gehring, 67, of Baldwin; Steven Kunin, 15, of Brooklyn; Xiu-Ying Chen, 38, of Manhattan; Harsharn Singh, 31, of Jersey City; Sumejh Shara and a 35-year-old woman whose name was not released. Kim Young, 60, of Queens died of her injuries at St. Vincent's Hospital the following morning.
Police said Weinstein, a driver for Worldwide Distribution Services in New Jersey, was not charged following the accident. He was apparently making a delivery at Steve Madden, a shoe store on West 34th Street, when the accident occurred.
The bus, operated by Queens Surface Corp., is a private line that runs trips into Manhattan.
"He was asked to move the van and it abruptly moved forward, striking a number of pedestrians and striking the bus," said a police spokesperson. "He was double-parked at a bus stop, he put the car in drive and lost control."
The van lurched forward, jumped the curb and struck a pedestrian before turning right onto Sixth Avenue and where it mowed down several other pedestrians in the crosswalk, officials said. The van then slammed into the bus, trapping two victims between the vehicles with two being pinned beneath the bus, officials said.
Four victims were killed instantly and two, the 15-year-old boy and the Baldwin man, were pronounced dead at Bellevue, police said.
Brenda Gehring, the daughter-in-law of the Baldwin victim, said that Mr. Gehring was returning from work at the office of Manhattan-based Gehring Textiles, where he was president and chairman of the board.
The family learned of the accident from television news reports.
"He [Gehring] was fun, kind and generous. We will miss him dearly," said his daughter-in-law.
Gehring, a 41-year resident of Baldwin, is survived by his wife, Patricia; daughter Karen (Kim) Girards; sons George Jr. (Skip) and Scott; brother Francis; and 10 grandchildren.
Pedestrians who suffered multiple injuries, including bone fractures and blunt force trauma, were identified as Gloria Camilo, 40; and Claudio Schait, 29, both listed in critical condition at St. Vincent's Hospital.
Also injured were Percilla Riscette, 32 and Ambiose Snaggs, 26, who were listed in stable condition, officials said.
Other victims who were taken to Bellevue and listed in stable condition were a 34-year-old woman, a 22-year-old woman, a 51-year-old woman and a 27-year-old man.
Weinstein and the bus driver, identified as Wayne Roberts, were in stable condition at New York Hospital Medical Center. Weinstein was released Friday.
Neighbors of Weinstein were shaken up about the incident, calling Weinstein the "perfect neighbor."
Shelley Rudin, who lives two doors away from him, said when they moved in to the North Woodmere neighborhood nine years ago, Weinstein immediately invited her two children to see his aquarium.
"He is the nicest person," Rudin said. "I feel so bad for him. I just pray to God, that they find that the pedal got stuck and it was a tragic accident."
Rudin added, "Everybody likes him and all the kids want him to be their grandpa. He is very friendly and always has a nice big smile on his face. He and his wife are very decent, pleasant people."
Investigators apparently were looking into whether Weinstein may have suffered a stroke or a seizure. "Maybe there was something wrong with him," Rudin said. "Maybe it was a medical problem. He would not do anything intentionally to hurt anyone."
Gary Carlton, a co-president of North Woodmere Civic Association who did not know Weinstein off-hand, said he was leaving his law offices at Fifth Avenue, between 32nd and 33rd Streets, when he saw all the commotion.
"There were a multitude of police cars, ambulances and helicopters overhead," Carlton said. "Everyone was kept away from the area. People trying to walk down Broadway were told they can't walk down Broadway."
Carlton said when he came upon the scene, his first thought was that he happened upon "some kind of a bomb threat" or terrorist attack because it is located so close to the Empire State Building.
