taken from the new york post ....06/12/06
....CAR MOWS DOWN 4 AT SWEET 16
By JOE MOLLICA, PHILIP MESSING and DAN MANGAN
HORROR ON S.I./b> Critically injured Amanda Forsyth, was one of four teens hurled into the air by a car (above) that plowed into them after they left a “Sweet 16” party at this Staten Island church.
Photo: N.Y. Post/Juan Gonzalez
June 12, 2006 -- A car plowed into four teens goofing around on a Staten Island street after a friend's Sweet 16 birthday party yesterday, critically injuring two of them, cops said.
"They were just playing, horsing around," said a woman who lives near the scene of the horrific 12:20 a.m. accident on Richmond Avenue, across from Willow Brook Park.
Then, she said, "I heard a thud."
That horrible sound was a souped-up 1991 Honda, driven by Fabian McCallum, 20, slamming into the four teens, who were sent flying down the roadway and onto a median.
The driver, who had slammed on his brakes in a futile effort to avoid them, remained at the scene.
The victims - three girls and a boy - had been attending a Sweet 16 party in a rented room at the Immanuel Lutheran Church at 2018 Richmond Ave.
The most seriously injured victim was identified by relatives as Amanda Forsyth, 16, a sophomore at Susan Wagner HS.
She and a 14-year-old girl, whose name was not released, were both listed in critical condition with head trauma at St. Vincent's Hospital.
Another witness, Ron Medina, said he saw the group, "all dressed up in skirts and dresses," walk across the six-lane street just north of Rivington Avenue once, and then head back across.
"They were having fun, but when they crossed the street they weren't paying attention," Medina said.
"They goofed around a bit with each other and they crossed again"
That's when Medina spotted the Honda hurtling toward them.
"I thought he was going to slow down, and he didn't . . . He couldn't stop the car," Medina said.
"Two of the girls were hit head on. Their legs went up first, like the car picked up their bodies.
"One girl had the flesh ripped off her arm," he said.
Amanda, a member of Wagner's softball and twirling teams, is one of five children of Warren "Woody" Forsyth, a recently retired city firefighter who is the school's head wrestling coach and assistant football coach.
"She is a sweet girl, very level headed," said Doug Forsyth, Amanda's uncle.
"That's why I can't believe she was out on the road, clowning around. She's a smart girl."
The injured girl's grandmother, Caroline Forsyth, called her "a wonderful young lady, so popular."
The other two victims - a girl and boy, both 16 - were in stable condition at Staten Island University Hospital North. Their names also were withheld.
The car, equipped with a variety of racing gear, including a carbon-fiber hood, was badly damaged in the crash.
No charges were filed against McCallum, who lives in Mariner's Harbor.
"Alcohol does not appear to have been involved," said a law-enforcement source.
Additional reporting by Erin Calabrese
....CAR MOWS DOWN 4 AT SWEET 16
By JOE MOLLICA, PHILIP MESSING and DAN MANGAN
HORROR ON S.I./b> Critically injured Amanda Forsyth, was one of four teens hurled into the air by a car (above) that plowed into them after they left a “Sweet 16” party at this Staten Island church.
Photo: N.Y. Post/Juan Gonzalez
June 12, 2006 -- A car plowed into four teens goofing around on a Staten Island street after a friend's Sweet 16 birthday party yesterday, critically injuring two of them, cops said.
"They were just playing, horsing around," said a woman who lives near the scene of the horrific 12:20 a.m. accident on Richmond Avenue, across from Willow Brook Park.
Then, she said, "I heard a thud."
That horrible sound was a souped-up 1991 Honda, driven by Fabian McCallum, 20, slamming into the four teens, who were sent flying down the roadway and onto a median.
The driver, who had slammed on his brakes in a futile effort to avoid them, remained at the scene.
The victims - three girls and a boy - had been attending a Sweet 16 party in a rented room at the Immanuel Lutheran Church at 2018 Richmond Ave.
The most seriously injured victim was identified by relatives as Amanda Forsyth, 16, a sophomore at Susan Wagner HS.
She and a 14-year-old girl, whose name was not released, were both listed in critical condition with head trauma at St. Vincent's Hospital.
Another witness, Ron Medina, said he saw the group, "all dressed up in skirts and dresses," walk across the six-lane street just north of Rivington Avenue once, and then head back across.
"They were having fun, but when they crossed the street they weren't paying attention," Medina said.
"They goofed around a bit with each other and they crossed again"
That's when Medina spotted the Honda hurtling toward them.
"I thought he was going to slow down, and he didn't . . . He couldn't stop the car," Medina said.
"Two of the girls were hit head on. Their legs went up first, like the car picked up their bodies.
"One girl had the flesh ripped off her arm," he said.
Amanda, a member of Wagner's softball and twirling teams, is one of five children of Warren "Woody" Forsyth, a recently retired city firefighter who is the school's head wrestling coach and assistant football coach.
"She is a sweet girl, very level headed," said Doug Forsyth, Amanda's uncle.
"That's why I can't believe she was out on the road, clowning around. She's a smart girl."
The injured girl's grandmother, Caroline Forsyth, called her "a wonderful young lady, so popular."
The other two victims - a girl and boy, both 16 - were in stable condition at Staten Island University Hospital North. Their names also were withheld.
The car, equipped with a variety of racing gear, including a carbon-fiber hood, was badly damaged in the crash.
No charges were filed against McCallum, who lives in Mariner's Harbor.
"Alcohol does not appear to have been involved," said a law-enforcement source.
Additional reporting by Erin Calabrese
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