The yellow cabbie who rammed into two ladies on a metropolis sidewalk had her taxi license suspended Tuesday, officers stated — as one in all her passengers described his personal journey from hell simply hours earlier than the harrowing crash.
The Taxi and Limousine Fee stated it pulled 25-year-old Mahamuda Akter’s license as an investigation into Saturday afternoon’s caught-on-video chaos continues.
Chilling footage captured the runaway cab barreling into pedestrians — sending each of them to the hospital — after which smashing by way of a Decrease East Aspect bodega at round 2:45 p.m., authorities stated.
“I used to be placing lipstick on the sidewalk and out of the blue a taxi rammed into us out of nowhere,” graphic designer Millicent Faber, 24, who was hurled onto the sidewalk, advised The Publish on Sunday.
Faber stated the crash fractured each of her legs, whereas her 25-year-old buddy, who was launched down the basement stairs outdoors the nook deli, suffered a damaged again and a concussion.
“I by no means thought one thing like this may occur to me, however I’m completely happy to be alive,” she stated.
The reason for the crash stays beneath investigation and Akter has not been charged.
A passenger who was in the identical taxi hours earlier than the crash advised The Publish that the cabbie was driving erratically even then, turning his morning journey from Battery Park to the East Village right into a 30 minute rollercoaster.
“I’ve by no means been that unsafe in a taxi, it was loopy,” stated Tom, a 29-year-old Manhattan resident, who requested to not be recognized utilizing his full title.
He supplied pictures he took that displaying his cab’s medallion and license plate quantity, which matched with the yellow taxi that crashed later that day. He additionally stated he acknowledged his driver because the one captured in video of the aftermath of the collision.
Akter was accepted for a TLC license in October and had no violations main as much as the crash, a spokesman for the fee advised The Publish. A DMV official additionally stated that there have been no infractions tied to the driving force.
“We take the protection of pedestrians, the using public, and drivers extraordinarily critically, and we’re grateful that everybody concerned in Saturday’s crash suffered solely minor accidents and hope they make a full restoration,” stated TLC Press Secretary Jason Kersten in a press release Tuesday.
“We’ve suspended the driving force after coordinating with the NYPD, which continues to be investigating.”
Tom, the cabbie’s passenger from earlier on Saturday, stated his personal journey began going off the rails at round 9 a.m., when he claimed the driving force took a mistaken flip as she made her into the Hugh Carey Tunnel.
“I search for and she or he’s driving into the tunnel that goes over to Brooklyn and I’m like ‘oh whoa, you’ve taken the mistaken flip,’” he stated. “And she or he’s stopped simply earlier than the tunnel and I’m like you’ll be able to’t cease right here, you simply bought to undergo now, you’ve dedicated, it’s a technique.”
As she drove within the tunnel, Tom claimed the driving force regarded down at her cellphone and brushed towards the cones that separate site visitors on the roadway — earlier than slicing throughout three lanes as they exited, regardless of not having her aspect mirror out.
As soon as they reached the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, Tom stated he requested to get off at exits alongside the best way to discover a completely different journey, however the cabbie stored going, driving onto the Manhattan Bridge whereas once more wanting down at her cellphone for instructions and “virtually hitting the barrier,” he claimed.
When he lastly bought to his vacation spot, Tom stated he refused to pay the $30 fare, telling the cabbie “you virtually killed us” — however “she locked the doorways and wouldn’t let me out.”
The pair settled on a $20 fare, Tom stated, including that he known as 911 to report the alleged reckless driver, after which phoned 311 on Sunday after he discovered in regards to the downtown crash.
The TLC spokesperson stated the company was wanting right into a 311 report filed Sunday. Tom stated he spoke a TLC staffer on Tuesday in regards to the report.
