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Authorities responded to a motor vehicle crash at 124 Lake Avenue in Yonkers at about 8:30 a.m. on Friday, July 23, according to the Yonkers Police Department.
Police said a man driving a 2005 Hyundai Elantra was northbound on Morningside Avenue when he turned west onto Lake Avenue. Police said that's when the driver hit a curb, a parked vehicle and two pedestrians. He then accelerated into the barbershop.
Officers who had been getting breakfast nearby, reportedly found a 36-year-old woman injured in the wreckage inside the barbershop, and her infant daughter was trapped under the vehicle. Yonkers Police said the officers and bystanders lifted the vehicle off of the baby, rescuing her.
Yonkers police said the woman suffered serious injuries to her femur, and the baby suffered a fractured skull and third-degree burns to her back and foot.
The mother and child were taken to a trauma center, and police said they are both expected to survive.
The owner of the barbershop also suffered a minor injury in the crash. Police said no other injuries were reported.
Police said the driver of the car, David Poncurak, of Yonkers, was arrested at the scene, along with a female passenger in his vehicle.
Authorities said an alcoholic beverage was found in the vehicle, and a test was conducted to determine the alcohol/drug content of his blood.
Poncurak is charged with DWI, second-degree vehicular assault and second-degree aggravated unlicensed operation, police said.
“It is always a tragedy when someone is injured by the reckless and criminal acts of another person, and that is only amplified when those injured include an infant," Police Commissioner John Mueller said. "Luckily, two veteran officers of Yonkers’ Finest just happened to be getting breakfast next door and quickly took action along with members of the community to rescue a child trapped under the vehicle and render aid to her mother. The actions taken are nothing short of heroic."
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