A New York City chiropractor who was well-known in the local basketball scene has been identified as the person killed after an elderly woman crashed into a Miami Beach restaurant trying to parallel park.
Dr. Gary Prince, 67, died on Thursday after an unidentified elderly woman crashed into outdoor restaurant-goers at Call Me Gaby in South Beach, where six others were injured, including a three-year-old.
Friends of the doctor told WSVN that Prince had worked with a few New York Knicks players and the team even honored the season-pass ticketholder in 2019 during Fan Appreciation Night.
‘Gary had a fulfilling life, his love for basketball, mentoring inner-city kids while in New York. Part of his practice was dedicated to heal the injuries of basketball players for the New York Knicks.
‘Dr. Gary Prince was a superb person in terms of helping people around him,’ his friends Kirk Kesapyan and Massimo Quarra, who was were dining with the chiropractor on Thursday night, told WSVN.
Prince also coached a team called Franchise – formerly known as Gold’s Gym – in the Nike Pro City street basketball league in the city, where he lived before moving down the East Coast, and even owned a Times Square location of a Gold’s Gym.
Another NYC basketball staple was also among the injured. Former head coach of the Manhattan College men’s team Barry ‘Slice’ Rohrssen reportedly underwent surgery on his leg after the crash and is said to be in good condition, sources told the New York Post. It is unknown if he was dining with Prince.
Rohrssen’s son was also reportedly injured.
Gary Prince, 67, (pictured at an undated photo) was dining at a ritzy Miami Beach restaurant Call Me Gaby on Thursday night when he was killed after an elderly woman crashed her crash into the outdoor tables when she hit the accelerator instead of the brakes while trying to parallel park
The chiropractor (pictured at a NYC restaurant in an undated photo) had worked a few New York Knicks and also coached a team called Franchise – formerly known as Gold’s Gym – in the Nike Pro City street basketball league in the city, where he lived before moving south.
Prince owned Gold’s Gym (pictured in 2010) – now a Crunch Fitness – in Midtown, Manhattan while he lived in New York before moving to Florida
Friends of the chiropractor rushed to social media to honor their friend.
Abdul Fox wrote on Facebook: ‘Some people come into your life and instantly change your trajectory and you, my friend, Dr. Gary Prince was all of that and much more!! I will forever celebrate your life. #rip.’
‘I could go on and on, the stories of how that man changed the trajectory of my life and many others,’ he told Local 10 News. ‘What just kind of makes me smile is that he was doing something he loved to do, eating with friends.’
Another friend, Irving Bilzinsky, wrote on Facebook: ‘Sorry to be posting that a good friend of Blitz passed away tonight. Brooklyn and Shorefront Y’s Dr. Gary Prince died in a freak accident on South Beach [on Thursday].
‘Gary was a good guy who spent his life training and rehabbing college and professional athletes. I’m sure Blitz will welcome Dr. Prince into his next stage.’
The owner of TK Star – a gym parts, cables and pulleys store – wrote on Facebook: ‘Just found out that my dear friend Dr. Gary Prince passed away. He owned a Gold’s Gym in Times Square [in] NYC. [He gave a lot to many people. Great guy. RIP.’
Another friend Jason Curry wrote: ‘R.I.P. Gary Prince! Most of us spend our lives wanting to receive more than we are actually willing to give. To me the most unique thing about GP was his willingness to GIVE TO EVERYONE.
‘He was wired with a heart and eyes to see the needs of everyone around him and never ask for anything in return! I had the honor to know him for over 20 years and he only ever ASKED me for 1 favor! The irony was that he paid me to help someone else!!! We were all blessed by his generosity!!!’
Prince’s friends rushed to social media to honor their beloved friend and his generosity throughout his career
The ritzy Call Me Gaby restaurant has not reopened since the accident on Thursday night ‘out of respect for those involved.’
‘We are deeply saddened and devastated by last night’s tragic event,’ Call Me Gaby ownership said in a statement.
‘On behalf of everyone with the Call Me Gaby family, our thoughts and prayers go out to those injured and deceased in the accident and their loved ones. We hold all of those involved closed to our hearts.’
The restaurant also thanked its ’employees, patrons, and bystanders’ for working together to remove the two people – including the three-year-old boy and a man in his 50s – out from under the woman’s Bentley. They also thanked local authorities for their help assisting the scene.
A video shot by two 13-year-old twins Miles and Noah Britton, of Vermont, shows the moments just after the tragic crash.
An older Bentley can be seen splayed across the sidewalk on Washington Avenue in trendy South Beach, as customers and employees scramble to the back of the car where the child and middle-aged man were trapped under the heavy car.
He was dining at the ritzy Miami Beach restaurant Call Me Gaby (pictured) on Thursday night
The restaurant’s owners said ‘their hearts’ were with the victims and their families
Former head coach of the Manhattan College men’s team Barry ‘Slice’ Rohrssen (pictured) and his son were also injured at the restaurant. Rohrssen reportedly had surgery on his leg and is in good condition. It is unknown if he was dining with Prince
‘A car just crashed right into here,’ one of the twins can be heard screaming in the video. ‘Give them some space, give them some space.’
A crowd of people attempt to lift the car off them and managed to do so, according to Miles, who spoke to WSVN.
‘Everyone is starting to move stuff out of the way and everything, and they pushed it enough so that the person had gotten out,’ Miles told WSVN. ‘I was very surprised to have it happened right in front of me.’
Another witness detailed the moment they pulled the small boy out from under the car. Robert Deburro told WPLG 10, ‘There was a small boy and a few people trapped under the vehicle. We grabbed the vehicle – a bunch of people grabbed the vehicle – and counted one, two, three, and lifted the vehicle up, and a waiter in there pulled a young boy out and within minutes – seconds really – the police were here and ambulances were here.’
Another witness Robert reported on social media that dozens of police and emergency vehicles arrived on the scene. An aerial video posted to Twitter also showed an entourage of flashing lights and emergency vehicles rushing to the scene.
The unidentified elderly woman accidentally drove her old Bentley onto the sidewalk and into diner after she hit the gas instead of the brake while trying to parallel park
Employees and customers frantically worked to get her car off a three-year-old and a man in his 50s that were trapped underneath the car (pictured). It is unknown if the woman has been charged for the accident
The accident happened just after 6pm outside Italian restaurant Call Me Gaby, leaving tables overturned and napkins strewn about the sidewalk.
As the elderly female driver was backing into a space, she sped up without warning and hit several tables, cops said.
Police did not identify the driver and have not said whether she will be charged. The other victim remain unidentified.
