Pair Of Cabs Collide On Upper East Side; Baby In Stroller Struck
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A 1-year-old in a stroller was struck, and two others were also injured, when one taxi a jumped a curb after colliding with another taxi on the Upper East Side Sunday afternoon.
As CBS2's Hazel Sanchez reported, Sunday was a gorgeous day for outdoor eating. But just before 2:30 p.m., it became a nightmare on one block.
"It sounded like a bomb. The crash was extremely loud," said witness Barbara Norwalk. "I'm never eating out on the street again. I'm not kidding. I'm scared."
Norwalk and her husband were sitting at a table at the Daisy, right at the corner of 85th Street and Second Avenue, when witnesses said the driver of a taxi van crashed into the other cab while headed west on 85th Street.
The impact of the crash was so intense that it crushed the front end of the second taxi and sent it flying onto the crowded sidewalk. The man behind the wheel said he had the right of way when the driver of the first taxi ran a red light and crashed into him.
"Our green light. So when you greenlight, what you do? You stay? You move right? We move and then he hit," the driver said. "So he don't follow the red light."
The driver of the taxi van told a different story, saying he had a green light and when he crossed the intersection at Second Avenue – going west on 85th Street.
The second cab ended up crashing into a family eating outside Wahlburgers Restaurant – including the 1-year-old baby boy in the stroller.
"Which was pretty crazy, because a bunch of people we're out there eating lunch," said witness Rachel Schermer. "The worst part was that there was a baby in a stroller that was hit by the car, but it seemed fine. Everyone seemed fine."
Police said the baby suffered only minor injuries.
Two passengers in one of the cabs – a 46-year-old woman and a 9-year-old girl – were also injured, but were expected to recover. They were transported to NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill-Cornell Medical Center.
Neither taxi driver would answer CBS2's questions, but people who watched
"We saw a young child on the floor. We saw a young man on the floor – who was one of the cab drivers, I think -- and then we saw a woman on the floor. And then the cab drivers just started arguing with each other and I watched them and I said to myself, my God, they didn't even ask how the victims were doing," said witness Angelo Digagni. "And that's just - that breaks my heart."
Both drivers stayed at the scene, and neither had been issued a summons as of late Sunday night. Everyone who was injured is expected to recover.
Walhburgers closed their outside seating Sunday night. Police said they are waiting to review surveillance video from the restaurant to see who is to blame for the accident.
