An out-of-control cab jumped the curb near the crowded intersection at 49th Street and Sixth Avenue this morning, seriously injuring at least one woman. According to NBC New York, the taxi “swerved to avoid hitting a bicyclist [and] struck a British tourist,” resulting in the amputation of at least one of her legs.
“He hit the girl, she flew up in the air, her leg was severed right off … so I just grabbed my belt, went over, lifted her up, put it on, held it,” said a witness. Also on the scene was television’s Dr. Mehmet Oz, whose office is nearby.
The makeshift tourniquet, he said, “was very smart thinking” and may have “saved her life.”
According to the Post, “At least three Good Samaritans rushed to help the woman,” including a “nearby hot dog cart worker took bags of ice to pack one of the severed legs.” More photos from the scene:
Update: The cyclist involved in the crash told the Daily News that the cab cut him off. “I told him to stop because I’m trying to go forward and people are crossing,” he said. “He loses his patience. He gets angry. He accelerates. Hits me.”
“I’m on the roof of a car like in a Steven Seagal movie, okay,” he explained. “And I’m on the sidewalk. I’m like this looking up at the sky.”
