Driver for disabled in van horror

A DRIVER for special-needs children was fatally crushed when her van lurched backward and hit her Wednesday morning in the Bronx.

Irene Espinal-Jiminian, 37, of White Plains Road in Van Nest, was driving a Ford van owned by the Institutes of Applied Human Dynamics and had stopped on E. 229th St. by Carpenter Ave. in Wakefield at 11 a.m.

She got out, but then walked back to the driver’s side to reposition the van. EspinalJiminian put the vehicle in reverse and then tragically fell to the ground, police said. The van rolled back, crushing her with the front driver’s-side wheel. It then hit a parked vehicle and stopped, cops said. Espinal-Jiminian was helping guide her charges out of the van moments before the accident, cops said. Authorities could not say whether any kids witnessed the tragedy.

Espinal-Jiminian was was taken to nearby Montefiore Medical Center, where she died, cops said.

Representatives of the Institutes of Applied Human Dynamics did not return a message seeking comment. The Tarrytown organization runs residential programs for special-needs children in Westchester County and the Bronx.

The horrific accident comes nearly five months after cops say a deranged gang member stole city EMT Yadira Arroyo’s ambulance and fatally ran her down with it on March 16.