A few minutes after 6 a.m. Wednesday, the driver of a black sport utility vehicle called 911 from his cellphone to report that he had just hit someone on 108th Street in Corona, Queens.

He went back to the spot. But there was no body there.

At 7:05 a.m. in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, the driver of a red van noticed a pedestrian trying to flag him down, yelling that he was dragging something. He pulled over and made a gruesome find: The body of a man — hooked through his sternum — was affixed to a steel plate that was part of the van’s undercarriage.

The man had apparently been hit by the first car and then dragged by the second one through major arteries of Queens and Brooklyn: the Long Island Expressway, the Grand Central Parkway, the Van Wyck Expressway, the Belt Parkway and Ocean Parkway.

It was 19.8 miles in all — and more than 50 minutes — before the van dragging the torn-up corpse finally came to a stop at Coney Island Avenue and Brighton 10th Street.

No one could say on Wednesday whether the man was killed when he was struck by the S.U.V. in Queens or whether he died later; an autopsy is scheduled for Thursday.

The police said the victim was a Hispanic man in his late 20s to early 30s, between 5-foot-2 and 5-foot-4. He had injuries from his heels to the back of his head. The body tissue, including the back of the legs, buttocks and back were, “worn, basically, off, in the extreme,” said Paul J. Browne, the Police Department’s chief spokesman.

In the man’s pants was a business card that investigators did not believe belonged to him; a broken iPhone with numbers that might provide clues to his identity; and a Western Union receipt showing that money had been wired overseas. His shoes were missing. A waist-length blue vinyl jacket was found in the westbound lanes of the Belt Parkway, near the Flatbush Avenue exit, and is believed to be his because of damage to its back and because the victim’s body was found without one.

No one has been charged with a crime; the first driver, Gustavo Acosta, of 80th Street in Jackson Heights, apparently broke no laws, and the second, Manuel G. Lituma, who lives a few blocks from where the man was hit, did not know his car had snared the body, the police said.

Mr. Lituma even stopped the car twice, once in Corona and once in Brighton Beach, to check whether anything was wrong, but did not notice the body until he was flagged down. “He apparently felt something,” Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said. “The car was not driving in a normal fashion.”....

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/12/nyregion/12drag.html?_r=1&ref=nyregion

Those damned Royals!

Oh, it's not about her?

That's nasty.

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1980 300TD-China Blue/Blue MBTex-2nd Owner, 107K (Alt Blau) OBK #15
'06 Chevy Tahoe Z71 (for the wife & 4 kids, current mule) '03 Honda Odyssey (son #1's ride, reluctantly) '99 GMC Suburban (255K+ miles, semi-retired mule) 21' SeaRay Seville (summer escape pod)

I guess it wasn't as bad as it first sounded. The guy who hit him apparently stopped in an attempt to be responsible. God, I can't imagine what that looked like after getting hit and then dragged twenty miles!

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" We have nothing to fear but the main stream media itself . . . ."- Adapted from Franklin D Roosevelt for the 21st century

OBK #55

1998 Lincoln Continental - Sold
Max 1984 300TD 285,000 miles - Sold
The Dee8gonator 1987 560SEC 196,000 miles - Sold
Orgasmatron - 2006 CLS500 90,000 miles
2002 C320 Wagon 122,000 miles
2016 AMG GTS 12,000 miles

I think what is more disturbing is the fact that the van TRAVELED almost 20 miles on public highways and for some reason (road-rage fear...most likely) no one on the highway either saw, or cared, that is was happening...or even bothered to signal the driver about the situation...

How dark is it in NYC at 0600 in the morning?

When does daylight actually hit the streets?

Geesh! I go nuts trying to flag a driver about a "stuck" turn signal if I can't get the guy's attention...

I suppose no one has ever seen a plugged/clogged catalytic converter at 0200 in the morning either...you see the underside of the vehicle "lit up" before you see the vehicle's tail-lights!

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M. G. Burg
'10 - Dakota SXT - Daily Ride / ≈ 172.5K
.'76 - 450SLC - 107.024.12 / < .89.20 K
..'77 - 280E - 123.033.12 / > 128.20 K
...'67 - El Camino - 283ci / > 207.00 K
....'75 - Yamaha - 650XS / < 21.00 K
.....'87 - G20 Sportvan / > 206.00 K
......'85 - 4WINNS 160 I.O. / 140hp
.......'74 - Honda CT70 / Real 125
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“I didn’t really say everything I said.”
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ~ Yogi Berra ~

Hey - this is NY.

When you live here, you gotta learn to suck it up and not complain about every little thing.

We hate whiners.

What a drag

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'86 300E 5 speed
'71 Triumph TR6
'46 Cushman Scooter
'41 Ford 9N tractor

It doesn't get light until close to 7 around here and we are pretty close to the eastern border of the mountain time zone. Got to think a similar situation applies in NYC. It was dark.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

So...what you're saying is "Eh...forgettaboudit! Watteva..."

__________________

M. G. Burg
'10 - Dakota SXT - Daily Ride / ≈ 172.5K
.'76 - 450SLC - 107.024.12 / < .89.20 K
..'77 - 280E - 123.033.12 / > 128.20 K
...'67 - El Camino - 283ci / > 207.00 K
....'75 - Yamaha - 650XS / < 21.00 K
.....'87 - G20 Sportvan / > 206.00 K
......'85 - 4WINNS 160 I.O. / 140hp
.......'74 - Honda CT70 / Real 125
.
“I didn’t really say everything I said.”
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ~ Yogi Berra ~

That was my first thought.
But then, UK issues are pretty frequent around here for some reason.

As it is: Nasty. Poor dude. I hope the first hit killed him. Or at least knocked him unconscious.

I'd rank that right up there with drowning and fire.

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1980 300D - Veggie Burner !

That's really bad and sad.

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"It's normal for these things to empty your wallet and break your heart in the process."
2012 SLK 350
1987 420 SEL

all along the Van Wyck expressway and Belt Parkway today...really a mess!

A Cop I know saw the remains and said it was one of the worst he had ever seen, and he is a NYPD Highway Patrol veteran of 20 years.

According to the cop, the guy was dead when the van hooked him so at least he didnt know what happened...

is under the Elevated subway trestle and is a gathering spot for Latino Day Laborers. they cluster starting at 4 AM or so and are frequently so despirate for work they will rush any Pick up truck or Van that drives down that street, thinking the driver is looking for workers.

I have several low rise construction sites in Brooklyn and Queens and we get 10 to 15 of these guys comming by every day looking for work. Approx 50% of the non union crews are Latino (Mexican, Equadorian, Brazilian) and some of their stories are really sad to hear. They get ripped off by contractors all the time, plus have to fight with the Black coalition crews for access to job sites (been some really bad fights lately, I'm just waiting for the guns to come out...).

Due to the high winds today there was limited work but all the guys were talking about this and how it could have been any one of them.

I'm 120 miles south of NYC. At 6:00 am here it's pitch black.

Daylight (first light/haze gray) is at around 6:40 - 6:45.

NYC sunrise times:
http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/astronomy.html?n=179

but you love tax dollars.

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Jonathan
1998 S600
2001 E430
1994 E320
1991 560SEL
1994 Turbo R