On Sunday, October 26, 2008, an SUV drove into a busy upper Westside Manhattan restaurant. Traveling in the SUV was Haitian Senator Cemethyse Gilles, 43. Senator Gilles was in the United States to raise funds for hurricane relief efforts in the Caribbean.
The accident occurred at 2:30 p.m. when the Senator’s vehicle, a Honda Pilot, and a taxicab sideswiped each other at West 100th Street and Broadway. As a result, the SUV jumped the sidewalk, plowing into the patio window of the Indus Valley Restaurant.
Emergency rescue workers cut a hole in the roof of the SUV to extract Senator Gilles and several other passengers. Passengers of both vehicles were treated at local hospitals for various injuries. Although the restaurant sustained significant damage to its exterior, no customers or employees were injured.
