Multiple people – including a nine-year-old child – were injured when a taxi plowed into pedestrians in New York’s iconic Herald Square on Christmas Day.
The yellow cab was traveling north on Sixth Avenue when it veered off onto the sidewalk and struck six people, the NYPD told DailyMail.com. The first 911 calls received about the crash at 6th and West 34th Street came in at 4:03pm.
The terrifying accident took place when the taxi driver, a 58-year-old man, had a possible medical episode, DailyMail.com confirmed.
All six people who got hit by the cab were left with non-life threatening injuries. The victims were a nine-year-old male, a 19-year-old female, a 37-year-old female, a 41-year-old female and two 49-year-old females, according to the NYPD.
The nine-year-old sustained a laceration to his right thigh and the 41-year-old had a head injury. Both were taken to Weill Cornell Medical center.
One 49-year-old woman was taken to Bellevue Hospital with a leg injury. The remaining three female victims, aged 19, 37 and 49, all refused medical attention, police said.
The NYPD said all six victims were in stable condition, though no information on the taxi driver’s condition was given.
The driver has not been identified. Police have also not yet made any arrests or charged anyone.
Pictured: The taxi that plowed into a crowd at Herald Square at 6th and West 34th Street and injured six people
Pictured: Another angle shows that there was substantial damage to the front end of the taxi
Pictured: Someone is hauled away from the scene of the Herald Square crash on a stretcher toward an ambulance
NYPD told DailyMail.com the incident happened just after 4pm
Officers are still investigating the scene of the crash, but it appeared to be an accident.
Dean Moses, an amNewYork reporter, was on the scene and was one of the first to get footage of the stalled taxi cab which he said ‘jumped the curb.’
An eyewitness, 45-year-old Ryan Tucker, told Moses that the wheels on the cab were still spinning after it came to a stop. The vehicle’s hood was up and showed signs of damage.
Tucker said he was in the city for the holidays and said a trip to New York was on his family’s bucket list. Tucker’s wife was one of the people struck by the cab, he said.
He said the taxi driver’s foot was still on the gas when it came to a stop, causing the tires to still spin in place.
‘That’s when we kind of ripped the fender off, got the car pushed back, and there was a little boy,’ Tucker told amNewYork. ‘I grabbed him and sat just over in the corner. His dad came running over eventually, and then I kind of sat with him and talked to him for three or four minutes just to make sure he was okay.’
Tucker revealed that the boy was from Australia and had a mangled leg. Another account of events relayed to PIX11 said his injury came from his leg being stuck under the wheel of the taxi.
Herald Square is home to Macy’s flagship department store, where tourists flock over the Christmas period, especially December 25.
Police are on scene at the major shopping district right in the heart of Midtown Manhattan. The NYPD said the investigation is ongoing.