The collision happened around 10:50 a.m. NYU College of Dentistry professor John Evans witnessed the incident.
“The woman was facing away from the cab, and when it hit her, she went up in the air and the cab basically pinned her against the wall,” Evans told NYU's Washington Square News.
The woman, believed to be in her 30s, was in critical condition but is currently stable, according to an update at WSN.
Woman hit by taxi in front of Weinstein, in critical condition
— Washington Sq. News (@nyunews) April 7, 2016
-- https://t.co/A6BAxuCDqC pic.twitter.com/D4j9rSSNJn
The cab driver was suffering from a medical attack, which caused him to lose control of the car, police sources told the Post. There apparently haven't been any charges filed as the investigation continues.
Updated:
The Daily News has a different version of things. They reported that the victim, 32-year-old Meral Arisoy "was battling for her life after she was hit and dragged a half block by an out of control cab going the wrong way."
"After the accident, the driver went back to his car to look for something,” [witness Jay] Ahn said. “He didn't like he was fazed too much."
The mayhem started after the unidentified cab driver went the wrong way on East 8th St. and University Place at 10:53 a.m. Thursday, police officials said.
The cabbie smashed into a tree pot and then hit Arisoy whose body got wedged under the car, witnesses said.
Ahn and another witness said the cabbie appeared to be speeding.
Provided he was not high on PCP the driver has nothing to worry about from a legal standpoint. In NYC a license to drive is a license to do all kinds of other things too. Funny how if you park your car in the wrong place, you can end up paying up to a three-figure fine. But lose control of your car, hop the curb causing all kinds of havoc on the other hand, you walk away scot free.
ReplyDeletefrom the comments on Streetsblog:
ReplyDeleteDOT presented a plan for traffic calming on University to CB2 back in 2013. It included a bike lane and five curb extensions. It was unanimously rejected by the full board. The reasons given included:
Whereas CB#2, Man. is well on record as enthusiastically supporting such reforms as bike lanes, curb extensions, metered parking and beautification, but such approaches don't fit every single location, and although University Pl. has the potential to be turned into a great place, no one's getting knocked down crossing the street, traffic is manageable, there's no clamor for more parking there, and no records of crashes, complaints or community advocacy have been presented, indicating the need for serious and thorough consideration of how to address the specific conditions there in a long-term coordinated effort;
So maybe now that someone's almost died, CB2 will allow the city to make University safer.
@6:48pm: I fail to see how "making University safer" would have prevented this particular driver from having a medical attack that caused him to lose control of the taxi.
ReplyDeleteYou seem to believe that if we just have enough "traffic calming" (a ridiculous term that really means "increased congestion to make everyone miserable") then no one will ever get harmed in the street. Yet since the implementation of bike lanes, pedestrians are at far greater danger of being knocked over than ever before. Crossing avenues with bike lanes, concrete divider lanes, etc. is an insane obstacle course. I was nearly run over last week by an SUV whose driver couldn't figure out that the parking lane (next to the bike lane) WAS NOT a driving lane.
University Place is already a narrow enough street, and it definitely doesn't need a bike lane.
I'm not so sure he had a medical attack. According to what I read, he also said the brakes failed. So which is it? Witnesses said he was speeding and then made an illegal turn and then lost control of the car. Don't help provide cover for him before anything is proven. If you see his picture at the scene, he looks fine.
ReplyDeleteA bike lane on University? No. University is as safe as any other street.
ReplyDeleteHow about mandatory yearly physicals for taxi drivers to decrease the likelihood of them killing someone by losing control of their taxis (which seems to happen every year)?
Someone was killed a number of years ago by a car driven by an elderly woman who had a medical issue and crashed through the east side of WSP.
ReplyDeleteOh for the days when we had a Mayor like Bloomberg who had the liesure and good taste to uproot the entire WSP fountain and move it a few feet over to lign up north and south wise with the arch and 5th Avenue.History be damned.
*sarcasm*
Right now University Place is a street twice as wide as any cross street but it has traffic volume of a cross street. The only reason all the space of the street is allocated for cars is the move them fast but since there is none of it there the street can become more appealing, green and quiet. This city has so much potential of being much more human focused then car focused and University place is just wasteful in that regard.
ReplyDeleteDrivers speed in this city and that is why they lose control over their cars and hit human beings all the time.
Drivers do not stop at crosswalks when people cross the street with the "walk" sign, hit people, have no consequences all the time.
NYPD has stationed an officer lately on 1st Av and 11 st next to the school for the past 4 months or so, the officer never issues any tickets to drivers who fail to yield to pedestrians and acts as a crossing guard although they have the authority to penalize people for endangering life (an authority a crossing guard does not have).
The only medical issue that could remotely justify this heinous act would be a total loss of consciousness. Otherwise, if you are not feeling well, you stop your fucking car. In the middle of the street if need be. In what reality does a "medical issue" justify or even explain slamming on the accelerator pedal?
ReplyDeleteAnd if eyewitness reports regarding the driver's condition are true then fuck this guy. He is a liar in addition to being an unfit driver. Fuck the city too, for their ridiculous tolerance of out of control motor vehicle operators in general.
If the medical issue was a diabetic coma then they do not know what's happening - start acting all drunk. "Disorientation" is listed on the Mayo Clinic site. My brother used to carry a piece of peppermint candy in his wallet just in case. 40 years of Type 1 Diabetes and he only had one close call. Luckily his wife noticed that he wasn't making sense.
DeleteThat said: I remember a friend with an office moving business saying that the hardest part of his job was finding drivers who could pass the physical to get licensed to drive huge trucks - now that so many in the country were obese.
Nydn has a heartbreaking photo of the cab driver at the scene, standing around looking perfectly a-ok. Motherfucker.
ReplyDeleteHopefully soon only self-driving cars will be allowed in the city.
ReplyDeleteFrom the limited information given, it does not seem that the driver should be considered innocent.
ReplyDeleteDoesn't the article state that the driver made an illegal turn? Witness accounts of speeding?
If so, attack or not, this driver should at the very least lose his license, and possibly be tried for manslaughter.
The "attack" sounds suspicious.
Nevertheless, let the investigations find the truth before we proclaim one way or the other what happened.
- East Villager
NYC: Wake up and enforce the traffic laws!
ReplyDeleteThe streets have become unjustifiably dangerous.
In the last few years, matters have worsened; it has become the norm for drivers to run the red lights just after they turn. Ticket them. Repeated violations, lose your license. Aggressive turns which do not yield right of way to pedestrians? Same. Speeding: shows flagrant disgregard for life. Same penalty.
Yes to traffic calming measures of all sorts. Lower speed limits, speed bumps, etc.
- East Villager
Here's a proposal. Just as the "broken windows" policy purportedly reduced more serious crime, perhaps addressing the milder infractions of drivers--such as gratuitous horn-honking, failure to use turn signals, etc.--might reduce the more serious and life-threatening behaviors.
ReplyDelete...and all the tickets would provide revenue for the city, which could go into a fund to improve infrastructure and public transit.
- East Villager
This is heartbreaking. That poor woman. We are all prey to situations such as this in the city. I hope for this dear woman's sake, she will pull through and make a full recovery. My best to her.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the driver is concerned, an investigation needs to be launched. He should be brought to justice.
Hope she has insurance to cover the expenses, because I am sure the cabbie's insurance won't cover five minutes in the ER
ReplyDelete@2:25, not true. It is actually a surprisingly capital intensive business to run a cab. The insurance requirements are really quite high, and even the medallion itself runs well over a million dollars. No amount of money is not going to make her whole, but she's much more likely to be able to collect adequate compensation as a result of being hit by a cab rather than if she were hit by a private vehicle.
ReplyDeleteI try to walk against the flow of car traffic as much as possible, since I walk just about everywhere these days... not that it would prevent this happening, but might give you a chance to zig or zag.
ReplyDeleteHaving been in a car accident with many broken bones; I feel for her... may she recover quickly.
Yes, bike lane on University please!
ReplyDeleteAny update on this person's condition? Did she live?
ReplyDelete