Three people were in critical condition Monday afternoon after a taxi jumped onto the sidewalk in the Flatiron district of Manhattan. Authorities said the driver hit a cyclist and several pedestrians with his vehicle.
Around 1 p.m., according to the Fire Department, the taxi crashed into a building near 29th Street and Broadway, an area packed with bars, restaurants and hotels. Police officials are investigating the cause of the collision, which they believe is now an accident.
As the driver turned left onto Broadway, police said, his taxi hit a cyclist and sped onto the sidewalk. The car then accelerated and pushed the two women against the wall.
Mamadou Barry, 40, was among passersby watching the collision. He said the cyclist was awake, but his arm was unnaturally twisted.
Mr. Barry and more than a dozen bystanders moved the taxi away to free a victim who had been crushed. As passers-by shouted, Mr. Barry looked away, not wanting to see the extent of his injuries. “It was terrifying,” he said.
Police Department Deputy Chief John Chell said at a news conference that “a remarkable scene unfolded: About 15 to 20 New Yorkers tried to get this taxi away from these women.”
Mohammad Khan, the owner of a perfume shop in the vicinity, said he rushed to the site of the accident after hearing noises from his shop, arriving to find the victims with bloody wound. People around were providing water and comforting them as they waited for the ambulance to arrive, he said.
The Police Department is investigating whether the crash was caused by the driver experiencing a “sickness”, a spokesman said earlier on Monday.
According to authorities, at least six people were injured and taken to hospital, including the taxi driver. Three people suffered life-threatening injuries.
The taxi remained at the scene around 3 p.m., near a juice shop and a dessert shop. The driver’s door is open, next to a bike in the green bike lane.
The crash comes amid a staggering increase in traffic deaths in the city and across the country.
In New York City, The accident killed 59 people for the first three months of this year, according to data from Transport Alternatives, an advocacy group for pedestrians and cyclists. It was the deadliest start since 2014, when then-Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the Vision Zero traffic safety program that aims to eliminate traffic deaths by 2024.
Car ownership in the city has also skyrocketed during the pandemic, as more people avoid public transit. A recent weekend in June had about 60% of subway commuters of a pandemic weekend equivalent, according to data from the Metropolitan Transport Authority.
Mayor Eric Adams recently announced a $904 million investment on safer streets over the next five years, the money will help with amenities like protected bike lanes and designated pedestrian spaces. He also said police officials will step up traffic law enforcement.
