2 hurt as car crashes into Roosevelt deli, police say

Deli manager Miguel Medina said he heard the boom — and he ran. It was only later he saw that an out-of-control car had careened through the wall of the Roosevelt store, leaving two people, including the driver, with what Nassau County police called minor injuries.

The incident occurred at the Mam Deli Grocery on Babylon Turnpike near Seaman Court at 12:12 p.m. Monday.

Police said the cause of the crash is under investigation. The identities of the injured were not released.

Medina, 41, of Brentwood, said one of the two injured was a customer; the other, he said, was the female driver.

“Thank God only one person [was] in the store when this happen,” said Medina. “I don’t even have time to check the cameras. I hear the boom and I run.” Then, he said, “I see the car was in the side of the building ... It hit the ice cream freezer, the ATM. The brick is all over the place.”

Medina, who has worked at the deli for 14 years, said a building inspector already told him there was no structural damage, though the wall and interior will need repair. And, he said, he was thankful the injuries were minor.

“All the stuff,” he said, “we can fix it. Someone’s hurt, that’s different.”

CORRECTION: The location of the accident was incorrect in a previous version of this stor.

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”