Even the busiest streets of Manhattan have their quiet times. Walking down MacDougal Street (one of the most touristy streets in the city) in the morning is a vastly different experience from the summer or weekend evenings and nights. In this neighborhood in the morning, it is quiet and the traffic is light, so your guard is definitely down. Tuesday was a beautiful day, and as I crossed the intersection at MacDougal and West 3rd Streets in the Village, the last thing I expected was an enormous automobile crash, virtually at my heels.
This was the largest crash I have ever witnessed and was heart stopping as one vehicle hit another broadside in the intersection. The vehicle impacted by the taxi rolled over completely, coming to rest on its roof. Only a moment lapsed before many bystanders sprung to action, righted the vehicle, and removed its driver, who, surprisingly, looked extremely shaken, but with no outwardly obvious bodily damage.
Within a few minutes, two police mounted on horseback arrived first, followed by an ambulance, fire trucks, and other emergency support vehicles.
Ironic insults to injury abounded. First, the taxi driver's immediate concern appeared to be his future employment rather than the condition of the injured driver lying on the sidewalk. As the taxi driver stepped out of his cab, he exclaimed in shock and disbelief, "Oh, this is not good for me at all."
Then, in examining the photos this morning, I noticed the two bumper stickers on the overturned vehicle. One read, "CAUTION Vehicle Makes Frequents Stops," and the second read, "How's My Driving? Call 1-800-994-8099"
In a final insult to injury, the injured driver rested on the sidewalk, surrounded and helped by others as he awaited the ambulance, beneath a sign reading: "The Best Backrub For Men and Women"...
Related Taxi Stories: Yellow Fever, Jersey Girls, Sea of Yellow, Garden in Transit, Pedicabs
10 comments:
Oh no, thankfully everyone's OK.
I love your blog! I'm here in the city too and love your little extra dose of New York each day!
Oops. That's what I call a bad day
Melissa - thanks! I am not sure of the condition of the man who got hit - I called the local precinct and they had no info.
Mo - that's an understatement.
I'm glad you're OK! I can imagine the strength of the crash when the other guy ended up on the roof... geez, what was the cab driver doing before the crash?!
I, too, am glad everyone is ok and no pedestrians were injured. Macdougal is a narrow street and this could have been much worse. It is also nice to see how many people jumped to the aid of the man in the little truck.
I see such crazy taxi drivers all the time, it's amazing and lucky they we don't see more crashes.
I love the taxi drivers re-action!
Its amazing what you can see on the streets.
Holy Cow! so close! It's amazing how you can make us laugh out loud even in chilling descriptions. Thanks for that. Glad folks seem to be okay. Time always tells in situations like that.
Wow. Scary! Great shots, though!
Hey, if he hadn't parked illegally in the MacDougal Street bike lane, maybe he wouldn't have been in the way of the cab barreling that direction!
Midtown Express drivers are notoriously lazy for parking in bike lanes when legal parking is readily available.
Glad everyone is OK. Nice write-up of the accident and some god photos.
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