1 Dead After Driver Plows Into Astoria Outdoor Dining Structure

ASTORIA, QUEENS — A man was killed Thursday night when an out-of-control driver hit his motor scooter and then smashed into an outdoor dining structure, sending debris crashing down onto a woman inside, police said.

The car's driver, a 60-year-old woman, was traveling north on 35th Street by Ditmars Boulevard in her SUV around 7:45 p.m., when she hit the man.

She continued driving, dragging his body and scooter under her car while hitting two other parked cars and finally came to a stop when she barreled through the outdoor dining structure at Rosatoro at 35-02 Ditmars Boulevard, according to police and multiple sources.

The man, who police identified as Xing Lin, 37, from Elmhurst, was found unconscious on the street and later pronounced dead, the NYPD said. Several sources identified Lin as a delivery worker, but that has not yet been confirmed by police.

The woman inside the restaurant, 32, had been dining at a curb-facing table was taken to the hospital with injuries to both of her legs, according to police.

Rosatoro’s general manager, Kevin Sales, told the New York Times that a tree and an electrical pole near the restaurant’s outdoor dining structure probably slowed down the woman’s car “or else she would have been inside the restaurant,” he said.

He also noted that earlier in the night customers had wanted to sit in the outdoor dining structure, but he had encouraged them to come indoors. "They were really lucky," he told the New York Daily News.

The crash happened on the same day that the New York City Council voted to make the city's Open Streets program — which provides more room for outdoor dining and pedestrian space in the street — permanent, reported CBS New York.

“On a day where we should be celebrating the success of the Open Streets program, instead we are mourning the loss of another New Yorker killed by traffic violence," Danny Harris, Executive Director of the bike and pedestrian advocacy group Transportation Alternatives said in a statement about Thursday's crash.

Although Harris is among many pedestrian advocates who celebrate the Open Streets program, he pointed out in his statement that the program requires additional "physical changes to streets to eliminate the danger of cars," which he believes have not been implemented — Thursday's crash in Astoria was not the first time a car has collided into an outdoor dining structure in NYC.

“Unless Mayor de Blasio permanently redesigns streets for safety, drivers will continue to kill more New Yorkers whether they are crossing the street, riding a bike, or dining outdoors," wrote Harris.

On Friday morning Mayor Bill de Blasio Tweeted his condolences to Lin's family, adding that there is "ZERO tolerance for reckless driving" and that the city plans to "continue to deepen our commitment to Vision Zero."

As of early Friday morning there are no arrests and the investigation remains ongoing, said the NYPD.