Police: Hit-And-Run Driver Hits Taxi, Sends It Onto Curb And Into Pedestrians On UWS
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A hit-and-run driver rammed a taxi Monday afternoon, causing the cab to the curb and slam into multiple people on the sidewalk on the Upper West Side.
As CBS2's Lou Young reported, the accident happened around 4:40 p.m. at 62nd Street and Broadway. The taxi was clipped from behind by a dark sedan.
"He hit me like that! Bump! Bump! Bump, three times!" cab driver Michael Parvaz of Brooklyn said as he made clapping gestures.
Parvaz said the hit-and-run black or blue sedan rammed him intentionally from behind as he drove along Broadway with two passengers.
"He hit one time then I put the brake, and he again hit me, then I lost control," Parvaz said.
The taxi then went up onto the sidewalk and mowed down four pedestrians, knocked over a food cart, and finally hit a Con Edison truck that was parked on the street, as WCBS 880's Alex Silverman reported.
The crash led to a scene of chaos, with pedestrians down and bleeding, and the food car toppled on its side smashed into the Con Ed truck.
CBS2 obtained exclusive cellphone video, shot moments after the crash. It showed the food truck on its side, and the injured pedestrians down on the pavement.
Raul Pacheco was sweeping up near Lincoln Square at the time, and said he saw it all.
"A black car hit the taxi in the back, the taxi lost control, hit the coffee truck. The coffee truck fell down; hit a couple people that was walking on the sidewalk, and hit the Con Edison truck," he said. "That's what happened."
One person was taken to Bellevue Hospital Center in serious condition, and two others were hospitalized with minor injuries, officials said. Several others suffered minor injuries and refused medical attention, police said.
Witnesses said the most seriously injured person, a woman, had a neck brace on and seemed immobile. She also had a very bloody arm.
"She had a neck brace on. She looked really hurt. I couldn't see her face, but she couldn't move; her arm, you could see blood pouring out of the bandage," said witness Laurie Adams.
The woman had been pushing a wheelchair when she was struck, police said.
"It was a bloody scene," said witness Jose Rodriguez. "Luckily, there was two nurses involved that got involved real quickly."
The vendor was inside the halal food cart when it was knocked over and was left dazed, a friend of the vendor said.
Cab driver Parvaz was knocked out.
"I go like dizzy, you know? They tell me somebody came and put water on my face," he said.
Parvaz, 59, of Brooklyn said he has been driving a cab for eight years and has never had an accident. He said he regained consciousness behind the wheel, lying on the side of his airbag.
Parvaz was given a sobriety test at the scene, but he and witnesses insisted it was the hit-and-run driver who caused it all.
There was a deep hole in the road near the scene, part of a construction site. Fortunately, no one fell in.
Following the accident, northbound Broadway was closed at 62nd Street just south of Lincoln Center, as police tried to determine what happened. Traffic did not reopen until around 6 p.m.
The driver of the black Honda that sideswiped the cab fled the scene, police said. The Honda had been reported stolen earlier Monday, police said.
Police were still looking for the driver late Monday evening, 1010 WINS' Al Jones reported.
