The occupants of the white Audi may have been in a dispute at a nearby gas station, and in speeding off, struck a Toyota Rav 4 livery vehicle, which was operating as an Uber.
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The force of the crash sent the Rav 4 careening into the front of the Inwood Bar and Grill just before 9 p.m.
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Video shared from eyewitnesses inside shows people hurt, crying and scared -- surrounded by shattered glass.
At least 22 people were injured, all apparently by flying glass and debris.
Of the injured, 19 were taken to area hospitals. The most seriously hurt was a 10-year-old girl with a possible broken leg. She was rushed to New York Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia.
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A 7-year-old child was also injured.
The 32-year-old Rav 4 driver was also treated for minor injuries.
"When he hit me, I think like, my life is gone," driver Sory Toure said.
Fortunately Toure and his female passenger only suffered minor injuries and his vehicle did not directly hit anyone.
Three other people declined medical attention at the scene.
The manager of the restaurant said it is remarkable that no one was killed and he does not blame the Uber driver.
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Detectives are looking into whether the occupants of the Audi were speeding away from a dispute at a nearby gas station when the vehicle struck the Rav 4 and took off.
State Assembly member Manny De Los Santos says the Audi had fake New Jersey plates. His message for that driver is to turn himself in.
The restaurant is back open after it was boarded up and cleaned up but the search continues for the driver who fled.
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