The crash happened around 4:50 p.m. at West 148th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue.
Surveillance video obtained exclusively by Eyewitness News shows a Nissan pickup truck plow into two men walking along on the sidewalk at St. Nicholas Avenue between 148th and 149th streets before slamming into the back of a parked UPS van. The force of impact shoved the van further into the street.
Witnesses say the truck came in so suddenly, the victims had no time to get out of the way.
"It was like she hit the gas, flew on the sidewalk, boom," resident Jason Ebanks said. "I was in my apartment. I thought it was a water main that erupted. I looked out the window, saw the guy on the floor."
Aldo Sorcia was in the passenger seat of the Nissan Titan and told Eyewitness News reporter Lucy Yang that he was trying to teach the female driver how to park the truck in an empty spot on the corner when she confused the gas pedal for the brakes. Both stayed at the scene.
Sorcia said she was just learning how to drive and he's not sure if she has a learner's permit, but admitted that he should have been the one driving the car.
In the course of the crash, a fire hydrant was also toppled but did not erupt into a geyser. One eyewitness said they are grateful one of the victims did not fall under the truck.
"I saw him rolling. I thought the back tire was going to roll over his head," Michael Evans said.
The two victims were taken to NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem where they're expected to survive.
Sorcia said he feels terrible about the two men who were hit.
Police sources told Eyewitness News that one of the two victims is an NYPD officer.
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