On Christmas Day, a cab veered off the road and onto the sidewalk in busy Herald Square, leaving six people hurt in the heart of New York City.
The crash happened just after 4 p.m. when a 58-year-old taxi driver suffered a medical emergency while driving north on Sixth Avenue, according to the NYPD. His cab suddenly jumped the curb at West 34th Street, sending pedestrians scrambling.
Among those injured were a 9-year-old boy and a 41-year-old woman, both taken to New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. A 49-year-old woman was also hospitalized at Bellevue. Three other women, aged 19, 37, and 49, were checked by paramedics but chose not to go to the hospital. Thankfully, officials confirmed that none of the injuries were life-threatening.
The cab driver was also taken to Bellevue for evaluation. Police say no foul play is suspected.
One witness, visiting from Oregon, described the terrifying moment his wife was struck by the cab. He ran over to help and saw a boy trapped under the front passenger tire.
“A group of people jumped in right away,” he said. “Someone got into the cab and turned it off. Then all of us lifted the car and pulled the fender off to get the little boy out.”
The boy’s mother was found pinned underneath. “I grabbed him and took him to the corner, and that’s when I realized his mom was still under the cab,” the man recalled.
While the crash left many shaken, the quick actions of bystanders helped prevent a worse outcome in what could have been a tragic holiday accident.
