Six people have been injured in Herald Square on Christmas Day, including several tourists, after a yellow cab driver jumped the curb and struck pedestrians, cops and eyewitnesses said.
Photo by Dean Moses
Six people, include several tourists, were injured in Herald Square on Christmas Day after being struck by a yellow cab driver who lost control and jumped the crowded curb, cops and eyewitnesses said.
The horrific incident unfolded on 34th Street and 6th Avenue in the shadow of the Macy’s department store at around 4:03 p.m. on Dec. 25.
According to law enforcement sources, a 58-year-old taxi driver traveling westbound on 34th Street t suddenly veered the vehicle toward the curb, then hopped onto the sidewalk and struck no fewer than six people, authorities confirmed.
Ryan Tucker, a 45-year-old tourist Oregon said he was in town for the holidays as part of a bucket list vacation with his family when the cabbie careened onto the sidewalk and struck his wife, who he says will be okay.
“His (the driver’s) foot was still on the gas — the tires were still spinning. That’s when we kind of ripped the fender off, got the car pushed back, and there was a little boy,” Tucker recalled. “I grabbed him and sat just over in the corner. His dad came running over eventually, and then I kind of sat with him and talked to him for three or four minutes just to make sure he was okay.”
Tucker said the child hailed from Australia and suffered a mangled leg.
While authorities are still investigating, police say all six victims suffered severe injuries but are currently in stable condition at local hospitals.
The 9 year-old boy and a 41-year-old female are undergoing treatment at Cornell Hospital while a 49-year-old woman is at Bellevue Hospital.
Several EMS crews were seen treating victims on the scene while the driver of the taxi, who appeared dazed, was first escorted into the back of a police vehicle before also being placed in the back of an ambulance.
Police have yet to say if the driver will face charges.
