Around 8 p.m. last night this alert came in over the police scanner wire service: Car Vs. Building. (WHO WILL WIN?!) Unfortunately, this bout was more of a tag team Car Vs. Human Vs. Scaffolding Vs. Building. An unidentified woman was struck by a taxi driver that jumped in the curb at Sixth Avenue at 54th Street. She was pinned against the scaffolding, which partially collapsed, but fortunately she's going to be okay: the FDNY says she was taken to the hospital with a head injury, but in stable condition. (The cab driver was okay, and no charges filed.) Of course, as one sage bystander notes, all this could have been avoided if the cab had just stayed where it belongs.
Cabs Where They Don't Belong: Up On The Sidewalk, Hitting Pedestrians
Video: SUV Crashes Into Brooklyn Supermarket, Chaos Ensues
Yesterday, emergency responders got a call about a "car into supermarket" on Nostrand Avenue in Brooklyn. WCBS 2 has surveillance camera footage from inside the store, the Gem Meat Supermarket, which shows the wall and shelves buckle in from the impact. See it below
Teen Driver Crashes Car Into LI Sex Shop
Teens: Bad drivers and really horny? Newsday reports that an 18-year-old crashed his car into a West Babylon adult store: "The crash occurred at 10:17 p.m. at Sneek A Peek, The Couple's Boutique, at 588 Sunrise Hwy., along the eastbound service road, Suffolk County police said. A police spokesman said the car went 'all the way into the building.' The store sells lingerie, videos and, um, toys." And "all the way"—heh! Besides driver Michael Sicurilli, a Sneak A Peek employee also suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Sneak A Peek, which describes itself as an Erotic Couples Boutique on a MySpace page, has been hit with tens of thousands in fines and summons, in what owners claim is an attempt to force them out of the community.
Chinatown Business Struck Again By Vehicle
Yesterday, a truck hit a Chinatown business near the Manhattan Bridge—and it was the second time this year wireless store has been hit. The Post reports that a "runaway cement truck" which "apparently lost its [brakes] at about noon on Canal Street near the Manhattan Bridge, careen[ed] out of control along the busy street" and "sideswiped half a dozen cars -- including one filled with children -- and then crashed through the front of a wireless-phone store." (See this picture.) One witness said of the scared children, "They were very distraught. It was traumatic. The truck was bearing down on them. They were both crying." Ten people (no pedestrians) had minor injuries; no criminality was involved.
Just a Normal Saturday: Cab Jumps Curb, Hits Building
Reader Daniel Jeffries sent us this picture of a cab at the corner of West End Avenue and West 106th Street—and we really hope no one was injured, either in the cab or on the street/sidewalk. While car mishaps are not unusual, let's just go over the past few weeks: On Thursday, a cab suddenly caught fire in Midtown (are they firetraps); last week, another overturned in Chelsea; on August 18, a cab struck the West 72nd Street subway station (no charges filed, of course); and on August 14, a little boy was fatally struck by a cab driver (the driver wasn't charged, but it also turns out he had many moving violations, enough for his license to be pulled).
No Charges For Cab Driver Who Drove Into Subway Station
Three people were injured when a cab driver somehow drove his SUV into one of the West 72nd Street subway entrances—after jumping the curb and driving through the wrought iron gates— yesterday afternoon. The injured included the driver, his passenger and a pedestrian. The police say no charges are going to be filed in the incident, but one witness told NY1, "The driver was sitting on the floor and he was asked if his breaks failed. And he said yes. But there was no way his [brakes] failed."
Car Crashes Into West 72nd St Subway Entrance
There are reports coming in that a car crashed into one of the subway "headhouses" (the buildings that house the subway entrances) at West 72nd Street and Broadway. We're not sure if it's the new northern building or the older one on the south, but apparently three people were injured. According to initial reports, there are "two red tags" and "one yellow tag"—according to triage terminology, red tag is "immediate care / life-threatening" and yellow tag is "urgent care / can delay up to one hour." And the car may have been a taxi. We'll keep updating with what we learn—unclear whether this will affect the commute.
Van Hits Livery Cab, Cab Hits Building, 7 Injured
Sigh. Yesterday afternoon, the Daily News reports, "A livery cab crammed with passengers crashed into a Washington Heights flower shop [at Broadway and West 157th]... when a van filled with seniors hit it." A delivery man for the florist said, "It was chaos out here, total chaos. A white van was coming toward the store to make a left or a U-turn. The van didn't wait for the light and the Town Car came down and hit the van, pushing him up the street, and the Town Car went straight into the store." The van ended up crashed into the center median. Seven people were injured, though not seriously. One lucky person was a female pedestrian, who wasn't hit but her shopping cart was "crushed".
Yesterday's Other Vehicle-Into-Building Incident
An hour before an allegedly drunk driver accelerated onto a Midtown sidewalk, killing a pregnant woman and injuring another, a cab driver ended up driving into a pizzeria on Amsterdam Avenue at West 106th Street. Seven people—including the cab's passenger—were injured and one victim was seriously injured.
20-Month-Old Boy Crashes Car Into Building
Newsday reports that a 20-month-old toddler managed to crash his parents 1993 Buick into a building on Long Island yesterday. Apparently the child's mother left the car running—with the boy's father in the front passenger seat—while she went inside a check cashing business last night. The toddler climbed from the backseat into the front and "put the car in gear, rolling it into the building." According to WABC 7, "The vehicle took out a brick column and a window before coming to a stop inside a store." Thankfully no one inside the car or in the store was injured.
Car Swerves into Starbucks Near Lincoln Center
Last month, there were a string of accidents that left over twenty people injured and one person dead after vehicles jumped the curb and hit pedestrians, seemingly making sidewalk the most dangerous place for pedestrians. Yesterday, an accident at Broadway and West 63rd Street, a taxi cab and car crashed into each other, sending one vehicle spinning into a Starbucks and hitting a pedestrian.
Car Crashes into Flatiron Subway Restaurant
Just hours after an out-of-control car drove onto the State Supreme Court's steps on Centre Street, another driver had a seizure at 29th Street and Fifth Avenue, crashing into a Subway restaurant at the corner. The incident occurred yesterday afternoon around 4 p.m.

