A Queens man who struck and critically injured a teenage prankster who was throwing eggs at cars on Halloween night has been charged with attempted murder, cops said.
Keith Richard, 50, in a Dodge minivan, slammed into Christopher Miraba, 17, who was tossing eggs with a group of young men on 23rd St. at Jackson Ave. in Long Island City at about 8:20 p.m. Tuesday.
Miraba suffered a broken leg, a broken pelvis, a fractured skull and bruised lungs, sources said.
Sources said Richard was irate because the teens had hit his sweatshirt with an egg.
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Witness Frank, 33, of Astoria, who asked his last name not be used, said he and his wife, 27, had stopped in at a Dunkin Donuts for a snack when the van jumped the sidewalk and tried to run over the teens.
Richard was going east on 23rd St. and south on Jackson Ave. when he jumped the curb after running a red light.
“There was this group of teenagers,” he said. “This guy jumped the curb and tried to run them all over. I thought it was another terror attack.”
Frank said the teens ran to get out of the way, but one got separated from the group.
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“This guy made a U-turn and ran him over,” he said. “Then he backed up and ran him over again. The kid was in real bad shape. He was bleeding from his head and his leg was twisted up real bad.”
Sources said Miraba wound up pinned against a traffic stanchion at the southeast corner of Jackson Ave. and 23rd St.
The driver proceeded for about a half block, then abandoned the car.
“There was no denying it was intentional,” he said. “This was absolute evil.”
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Another witness told Frank that the man screamed at the kids “One for one!” before trying to running them over, he said.
Cops confirmed that Keith drove at the teens because they were egging cars.
Keith fled the scene, but was soon arrested. He was also charged with reckless endangerment, leaving the scene, vehicular assault, and reckless driving.
“I thought he was going to jump out of the minivan and start shooting people. That’s what seems to be happening afterwards these days.”
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Medics took Maraba to Elmhurst Hospital Center in critical condition, cops said. His condition was upgraded to stable overnight.
He is facing a series of future surgeries, sources said.
Richard was awaiting arraignment. He has six prior arrests.
With JOHN ANNESE
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