MALBA, Queens (WABC) — Reckless driving, violent crowds and a car set ablaze was a nightmare scenario for one Queens community – and it was all promoted on social media.
The squealing of cars doing donuts in the large round intersections of the Malba neighborhood are an ongoing nuisance for those who live there.
Neighbors say what happened overnight Saturday into Sunday went too far.
"Over 100 of them just filled the streets and wreaked havoc and terror on this neighborhood," said council member Vickie Palladino.
Neighbors' cameras captured the cars flooding 141st Street for a car meetup promoted on social media. One car in the middle belonged to a security guard that was posted in the area to keep an eye on homes.
Neighbor Larry Rusch had tried to help.
"They were doing their spinouts, this and that and the other thing, so try and slow it down, I go into the car and moved it into the middle," Rusch said.
Then, someone in the rowdy crowd tossed an incendiary device inside it.
"It exploded inside and then the whole car was engulfed in flames," Rusch adds.
The security guard's car was left torched. Neighbors say that was bad enough, but then some of the meetup participants beat up a homeowner on his front lawn who had came outside with his phone in hand — and then posted videos of the assault on social media.
"He was treated for a broken shoulder, broken ribs, broken nose. His wife was punched in the face," Palladino added.
A neighbor who asked to remain anonymous, saw the fire and ran over and witnessed the assault – and the victim's wife calling the police.
"The police have been very responsive to everything, unfortunately, last night, that wasn't the case. While she was on the phone, it took them 45 minutes, I stayed with him until the police arrived," the neighbor said.
On Sunday night, neighbors gathered for a meeting of support and to call for a stepped up police presence. Their council member says there's more the city can do to prevent these wide intersections from being so appealing to joyriders.
"I have had DOT here at least a dozen times explaining to them what needs to be done with speed bumps," said Palladino
In the meantime, they're hoping police get to the bottom of what happened this weekend.
"To beat up a neighbor like that, that's bad. I hope somebody catches them and I hope we find out," Rusch said.
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