Writer sues in Tupac film
AN IDLING CAR sped forward and slammed into a parked van in Queens, pinning a neighborhood food vendor between the two vehicles and crushing his legs, police said Friday.
Stunning video from the scene shows a silver Nissan that had been parked barrel into the back of a red Ford Econoline van near the corner of Drew St. and 101st Ave. in Richmond Hill about 10:45 p.m. Thursday.
Tafazzul Hussain, 52, was loading fruit into the back of the van it hurtled several feet forward into a BMW, cops said.
That set off a chain reaction involving two other cars, the crash video showed.
The Nissan pinned Hussain against the van’s rear bumper, police said. He suffered severe injuries to both his legs. The fruit he was loading was strewn about the street and sidewalk.
Medics rushed Hussain to Brookdale University Hospital where he was listed in serious but stable condition.
Driver Sunel Ahmed sped off but quickly returned, admitting he had accidentally put his car in drive as he chatted with a friend.
“Either he put the car in drive instead of reverse or he hit the gas and not the brake,” said neighbor Ahmed Juber, 44.
Neighbors said Hussain, who sells fruit at nearby Liberty Plaza, is a hardworking, charitable man and neighborhood fixture.
“We really appreciate how hard he works,” Juber said. “He drives to Hunts Point to buy fruit and comes back. He’s out here seven days a week and his wife is often helping him.”
During the Islamic holiday of Ramadan, Hussain often stays open late to feed the thousands of worshipers leaving the Masjid Al-Aman Mosque just two blocks away, neighbors said.
“He leaves his store open until people finish praying,” said frequent customer Fayez Ahmed, 41.
“A lot of people break fast at his cart. People buy dates, coconut juice, grapes, bananas, oranges, apples — and go to the square to eat, sit and relax.”
Ahmed was given a summons for driving without a license. A DRIVER backing out of a Bronx driveway fatally struck a 95-year-old woman walking on the sidewalk, police said Friday. The Toyota Corolla was reversing onto the Henry Hudson Parkway East near W. 238th St. in Riverdale when it hit Ruth Cohn about 6:50 p.m. Tuesday. Cohn, who lived just down the block at the Atria Riverdale senior home, was taken to Montefiore Medical Center with injuries to her legs and pelvis. She died there the next day, cops said. The driver, a 46-year-old woman, remained at the scene and has not been charged, officials said. THE NEW biopic about one of the most iconic rappers of all time was plagiarized, according to a writer who says he was ripped off.
Kevin Powell says the film “All Eyez on Me” about Tupac Shakur is based on interviews he conducted with the rapper.
“After viewing the movie twice in the past few days, it is clear that my exclusive Vibe cover stories on Tupac Shakur (when he was alive) were lifted, without proper credit or compensation of any kind to me,” Powell said in a statement on Friday.
The film’s producer L.T. Hutton admitted he looked at all of Tupac’s interviews to make the movie.
Powell is asking a judge to immediately pull the film from theaters and to give him a slice of the profits. “All Eyez on Me” has grossed about $31 million since its release on June 16.
Powell is also in the process of writing a biography of Shakur.