By Jeff Lipton
The victim, identified as Jan Cuyan of Cedarhurst Avenue, stepped out into Central Avenue from between two parked cars at 3:55 p.m. on Jan. 9 when he was struck by a 1995 Oldsmobile operated by a 73-year-old woman from Woodmere, officials said. Cuyan was attempting to cross Central Avenue from north to south when the westbound car hit him.
When emergency service officials arrived at the scene, the teen was still unconscious, but soon regained consciousness, said Insp. George Gudmundsen of the Fourth Precinct. Witnesses said that after he was struck, Cuyan lay in the street, his head bleeding. He was taken by police ambulance to Cedarhurst Park, where the ambulance was met by a helicopter, which airlifted Cuyan to Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow, police said. He was listed in serious but stable condition.
The outlook for him is good, said Gudmundsen. I was heartened to hear the young man regained consciousness and it was not as serious as first envisioned.
No charges were filed against the driver, police said.
Fourth Precinct police cordoned off a small section of Central Avenue, just off of Cedarhurst Avenue, for more than an hour to conduct an investigation. Traffic was detoured until the investigation was completed.
Around noon the same day, police responded to a call on Central Avenue, near Frost lane, in Lawrence when a foil balloon filled with helium made contact with an electrical transformer and power lines, causing a small explosion. The blast rocked nearby buildings, and their electrical power was interrupted momentarily. No one was reported injured.
A group of students from Rambam Mesivta High School for Boys was eating lunch at the Jerusalem Pizza Shop when they heard the blast, which they said shook the shop. One student, Elishah Aryeh, at first thought it was a terrorist attack. It happens all over Israel in big shopping centers, so why not here? he said. The pizza store shook and everyone ran out.
Avi Posnick, another student, said he was walking on Frost Lane toward Central Avenue when he heard the explosion and saw a bluish-white streak flash across the sky. We saw balloons flying everywhere, he said.
The students said they called police immediately and were relieved that no one was injured.
Witnesses said they were amazed that a foil balloon filled with helium could do that much damage simply by making contact with power lines. Foil balloons filled with helium, which are attached with metallic ribbons, have been known to cause power outages when they become entangled in power lines, authorities said.
