Manhattan pedestrian accident
MANHATTAN, N.Y. — A person operating a “Smartcar” rammed into two pedestrians in Battery Park City. According to a report appearing in the New York Daily News, the impact severed the female pedestrian’s foot. Medical personnel said that there was nothing that could be done to reattach the 43-year-old woman’s foot and had no alternative course of action but to amputate the remainder of her leg from the knee down. The male pedestrian was much luckier and sustained minor injuries in the crash. The driver faces several criminal charges in Manhattan Criminal Court.
A 20-year-old crossing guard said he was about half of the way across West Street when he heard what he thought was screeching tires. He looked up and saw headlights coming towards him and the 43-year-old woman he was assisting in crossing the street. The 20-year-old crossing guard said he bounced off of the Smartcar and spun around. He then looked down and could not comprehend what he saw. He said that he believed the woman’s shoe came off of her foot which was laying on the ground next to her arm. He did not learn until much later what actually happened and that the crash took her foot off of her body.
The crossing guard said he was having a pleasant conversation with the woman. He helped the woman to cross a traffic island and then proceeded into what he thought was a clear path across the eight-lane road of West Street, which is part of the West Side Highway. The auto that hit the two pedestrians was executing a left turn from Murray Street when the crash happened. New York City Police accident investigators believe that the driver of the Smartcar, a 27-year-old man, weaved around a taxi and drove into the intersection. Officers charged him with assault and drunk driving. More charges could follow. The judge ordered him held on $10,000 bail after appearing in court on Saturday.
There is no additional information available about the condition of the catastrophically injured woman.
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