Car into Uniondale senior complex forces 5 to evacuate, Nassau police say

Five residents at a Uniondale senior housing complex were evacuated Monday morning after a car crashed into the building, the authorities said.

About 11:30 a.m., the driver of a Toyota Camry crashed through the brick facade and windows of an apartment unit at the Park Gardens on Uniondale Avenue, according to the Nassau County Police Department.

The 64-year-old driver was heading west on Uniondale Avenue when she "lost control of her vehicle," Nassau police said in a news release.

The driver was taken by ambulance to a hospital for treatment of minor injuries, police said, and no charges were filed.

A man and a woman inside the building "were not injured but transported to a nearby hospital for evaluation," Nassau police said in the release.

Delores Ross, 84, who lives in a neighboring unit of the complex, said she ran to help the woman inside the damaged apartment unit. The resident initially declined medical attention and then walked to the ambulance to be treated at Nassau University Medical Center.

"The car was destroyed, and it looks like the apartment is destroyed," Ross said. "There was not a scratch on her, but the crash knocked her off the couch."

The complex is operated by the Hempstead Housing Authority and federally funded by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The town building department deemed the building unsafe, affecting four apartments, said housing authority director Ed Cumming.

The residents will be relocated to vacant units while repairs are made, Cumming said.

Mavis Burke, 99, who lives above the apartment that was boarded up Monday, said she was waiting to find out when her unit would be safe for her to return after cracks were seen below her bedroom window.

"I heard a crash, 'boom, boom,' and it was vibrating," Burke said. "I've lived here a long time. I'm not worried, things happened before. I just want to make sure it's OK."

Newsday's Nicholas Grasso contributed to this report.