Good Samaritans race to aid victims after taxi crashes into NYC building, injuring 6

Per: NYP- A out-of-control taxi barreled into a Manhattan building Monday, leaving six people injured, including three critically — and about 20 good Samaritans springing into action to lift the car off two women pinned under it.

Truck driver Kader Issoufou, 45, said he witnessed the cab hit a cyclist and diners at 1186 Broadway between West 29th and West 28th streets right before 1 p.m.

The SUV taxi appeared to “cut the corner and turned into the bike lane, then he lost control and slammed into the sidewalk,” Issoufou told The Post.

“He hit the cyclist first, then he hit the people eating” at Black Seed Bagels, the witness said. “Everybody rushed over and lifted the taxi off two women trapped underneath.”

“One woman’s legs are gone. They were all mangled,” Issoufou said.

“A guy took off his belt and tied it around her leg to try and stop the bleeding.”

Marcos De Ogueta, 43, of Chelsea was one of the people who strained to lift the heavy hybrid SUV off the injured women. 

He said both women were conscious while being rescued. 

“They weren’t screaming or talking. They were just in complete shock and watching us,” said De Ogueta, who was working construction on the second floor of the new Ritz-Carlton Hotel and Residences on the NoMad block when he heard the crash.

He said one of the victims lost a leg below the knee and that the ankle on her other leg was mangled, while the second lady was missing the majority of one of her thighs. 

“The driver was in complete shock, just sitting in his seat with his hands on the wheel,” De Ogueta said.  “He was in the car for a couple of minutes until someone banged on his window and told him to get out because we were trying to lift the car to free the women.

“He eventually got out, took a few steps, then fainted.”

Video showed one person on a stretcher with a massive gash on their head. Another showed a person with a serious ankle injury.

Three of the six people injured are in critical condition, sources said. The other three people had non-life threatening injuries, the FDNY said.

Firefighters and EMS treated the patients at the scene and rushed them to Bellevue Hospital, according to the FDNY. Police have not released the identities of those hurt, and it’s unclear if the driver was among the injured.

“Right now, it appears to have been an accident, but our Highway Investigation team is here, and they’ll be figuring out exactly what happened,” NYPD Chief John Chell said at a press conference after the crash. Police confirmed witness accounts that the taxi driver hit a bike before ramming into the building.

The same cab was caught speeding through a red light in December 2021, according to howsmydriving.nyc, but it’s unclear if the same driver was responsible for the traffic infraction.

A rep for Black Seed Bagels told The Post that the shop is “working closely with the NYPD and DOT in their investigation to determine the cause of the crash. 

“Our hearts are with those who were injured as we pray for their well-being,” the rep said.

Issoufou said the city needed to scrap its permanent Open Restaurants outdoor-dining program, which surfaced first with COVID. 

“The city gotta be blamed too,” he said. “Too many people are eating on the street, and it’s too dangerous.”

Additional reporting by Larry Celona and Amanda Woods