'Driver never hit the brakes': Bystanders lift taxi off pinned pedestrians in Manhattan
MIDTOWN, Manhattan (WPIX) – Bystanders in New York City who saw a yellow taxi hit six pedestrians near Herald Square on Christmas Day helped lift the vehicle off them, video showed.
The 58-year-old driver of the taxi suffered a medical episode, which led him to drive onto the sidewalk near Macy's at West 34th Street and 6th Avenue around 4 p.m., according to authorities.
A video viewed by Nexstar's WPIX showed witnesses jumping into action to rescue a 9-year-old boy and a 41-year-old woman pinned underneath the taxi in the minutes after the crash.
"The driver never hit the brakes," Ryan Tucker, a tourist who helped the victims, told WPIX. "As we got up there, everything was still spinning. The little boy's leg was underneath the tire, just spinning and smoking. So, a couple of gentlemen got the car off … we kind of lifted it back, where we were able to pull the boy out."
The young boy suffered a laceration to his right thigh while the woman had an injury to her head, according to authorities. A 49-year-old woman had a leg injury. All three are expected to recover from their injuries.
Tucker told WPIX that the 41-year-old woman who was pinned under the car was awake and coherent the entire time. She was communicating with her son, the 9-year-old boy, the tourist said.
Three other people — a 19-year-old girl, a 37-year-old woman, and another 49-year-old woman — were also injured but refused medical attention at the scene.
No additional details were immediately available.