June 23, 2002
15 Injured, 2 Critically, When Out-of-Control Taxi Jumps Curb on Upper East Side
By THOMAS J. LUECK
taxi careered out of control and jumped a curb in the heart of a busy Upper East Side shopping area yesterday, leaving 15 people injured, two of them critically.
The cab barreled down a congested Lexington Avenue sidewalk before coming to rest near an entrance to Bloomingdale's, and witnesses said the accident sounded like a series of explosions.
The police declined to identify the victims, but said the most seriously injured included someone with a collapsed lung and another victim with a broken hip.
The operator of the cab, Arthur Smalls, 52, of Queens, who was alone in his vehicle, was driving south on Lexington Avenue between 61st and 60th Streets just before 5 p.m. when the taxi swerved wildly, side-swiping another car and jumping the curb, according to Capt. John Paulik, executive officer of the 19th Precinct.
Investigators said the taxi driver, who remained at the scene dazed but uninjured, told the police that he removed his foot from the gas pedal as he approached the stoplight at 60th Street, and tried to apply the brake. But the driver said that when he pressed the brake pedal, the taxi lunged forward faster than before and went out of control, according to Captain Paulik.
After jumping the curb on the east side of Lexington Avenue, about 100 feet north of 60th Street, the cab struck a hot dog vendor and someone selling used magazines from a folding table on the sidewalk.
The taxi continued moving south along the sidewalk, pushing the mangled remains of the hot dog vendor's cart and striking pedestrians in its path. It skidded across 60th Street before coming to rest just short of one of the entrances to Bloomingdale's.
Witnesses said several of those who were hit were emerging from a subway exit at 60th Street and Lexington Avenue.
The chain of collisions "seemed like it lasted for only a second," said Reva Erlichman, 55, a witness who was standing nearby on a 60th Street sidewalk.
"He hit those poor people coming out of the subway, and but for the grace of God, he would have ended up in Bloomingdale's."
Stephanie McFarland, 31, an employee of a clothing store on the west side of Lexington Avenue close to the site of accident, said, "I thought there was an explosion."
"I ran out and there were people screaming," she said. "I saw people lying on the sidewalk and not getting up."
Besides the two people who were critically injured, the victims included a 17-year-old girl and six other people who were in serious or stable condition at various hospitals last night, according to Sgt. Vincent Grivelli, a police spokesman. He said one other victim was in good condition, and five people were treated but not hospitalized.
He said no charges had been brought against Mr. Smalls, but the case remained under investigation. Police experts were said to be examining the taxi to determine whether there had been a mechanical failure.
Investigators said Mr. Smalls was given a Breathalyzer test on the scene and had not been drinking. They also said he had been driving a cab for 17 years and had a clean record.
The accident left a grim spectacle. More than a hour after the victims were removed, the intersection of 60th Street and Lexington remained littered with colorful paper, apparently the remains of magazines that had been stacked neatly on the magazine vendor's table.
The hot dog vendor's cart was smashed beyond recognition, and dozens of hot dog buns scattered in the street. Pigeons landed on the street and appeared to be feeding happily on the buns amid a jumble of emergency vehicles and police officers.
Arthur Smalls of Queens? I don't think this is exactly an Islamist terrorist we're dealing with here.