New York Daily News

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Crowd-plow driver reeked: victim

- BYKERRY BURKE, THOMASTRAC­Y andLARRY McSHANE With Rocco Parascando­ladola ttracy@nydailynew­s.com com

A FRENCH tourist struck by an accused drunken driver in Herald Square says the woman behind the wheel reeked of booze — and police say they found a crack pipe in her purse.

“I saw the car was coming up super fast,” Isabel Tootedjlap­u, 26, said Thursday. “It was up on the sidewalk. It hit everyone on the sidewalk, and went into the glass.”

One of two Australian sisters hit by the silver Mustang convertibl­e driven by Stella Mednik was trapped beneath the car and crying for help. Mednik, a suspended immigratio­n lawyer, climbed out from behind the airbag and spoke coolly to Tootedjlap­u.

“When she was talking to me, she said, ‘I’m fine,’ ” recalled the French woman, who was on a shopping spree while visiting an aunt in Brooklyn. “I smelled alcohol.”

Mednik, 34, an immigrant from Tajikistan, plowed through five pedestrian­s in her booze-fueled tear through the Midtown shopping mecca, cops said.

A second crack pipe was found on the floor of her car, cops said. Mednik refused to take a Breathalyz­er test, but cops did conduct a blood test.

A police source said Mednik was significan­tly over the legal blood alcohol level when taken into custody after the wreck around 9 p.m. Wednesday.

The Brooklynit­e was driving with a pal when she plowed into an SUV, a yellow cab and then the showcase window of Forever 21 on W. 34th St.

She was charged with fleeing the scene of an accident and driving with a suspended license. In addition to the three tourists, two New Yorkers were also hit by the runaway car.

Mednik’s law license was suspended in May 2011 after mingling business and personal funds on several occasions.

Tootedjlap­u, of Bordeaux, said the accident put a serious damper on her holiday spirit.

“I have abrasions all over my body,” she said. “I’m in pain all over my body. I just want nt to go back to France. This his is a sad holiday.”

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 ?? SAM COSTANZA/DAILY NEWSEWS ?? Stella Mednik (r.) is exposed as driver who hit five people and several cars in Herald Square on Wednesday night.
SAM COSTANZA/DAILY NEWSEWS Stella Mednik (r.) is exposed as driver who hit five people and several cars in Herald Square on Wednesday night.

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