Video shows taxi driver strike 2 pedestrians, crash into Lower East Side deli
A taxi driver struck two pedestrians before crashing into a deli on the Lower East Side on Saturday.
It happened just before 2:45 p.m. at Essex Street and Rivingston streets.
Video shows the driver making a right turn, then suddenly accelerating before striking two women standing on the sidewalk and crashing into a building.
Miraculously, police said the victims, both in their 20s, suffered only minor injuries and were taken to a local hospital to be treated.
A witness named Anthony who was having lunch next door said one of the women was thrown to the right side of the cab while the other initially couldn't be found.
"Her friend said, 'Have you saw my friend?' So we tried calling her name and then we heard a little whisper, 'I'm right here. I'm right here,'" Anthony said.
In a serendipitous turn of events, the sidewalk cellar doors were open at the time of the crash, and one of the victims fell into the deli's basement after being struck. Police said it likely saved the woman's life.
"She's like, 'I'm here. I'm here.' That was it," Anthony said. "And we asked, 'Are you OK?' And she said, 'I think so.'"
"Scary moment for everybody, and the whole neighborhood, the whole neighborhood got together. Everybody helped each other," deli owner Karim Islam said.
While complete strangers jumped into action, the cab's two passengers emerged, attempting to make sense of what just happened.
"We hit the flower shop. It felt super f****** hard. We had no idea what happened," one passenger said.
Though Islam's deli took the brunt of the damage, he's just glad no one was critically hurt.
"Everybody is safe. That's what we are all happy about it," he said.
As of right now, police say there is no criminality suspected in the crash. The driver, described as a woman in her 20s, has not been charged.
Police continue to investigate exactly what happened.
The Department of Buildings said the building sustained damage to the glass storefront, an HVAC unit and the cellar unit door, but there did not appear to be any structural damage. Inspectors told the building owner to seal off the cellar opening.
