An SUV crashed into a building on Sixth Avenue near West 17th Street in Manhattan Monday afternoon, injuring multiple people.
Around 2:30 p.m. the driver, who has not yet been identified, apparently drove through a protected bike lane, over a curb, onto a sidewalk and through the front window of the T-Mobile store, injuring four people, according to Transportation Alternatives Executive Director Paul Steely White. The crash occurred just steps from a public school, White said.
Witness Andy Zhang shared images of the chaos on Twitter, saying “A car veered off the street at 6th Ave and 18th St, crashing into a T-Mobile. Car is heavily damaged, people have been injured. #NYC #CarCrash.” He also shared a video of a person being taken away on a stretcher.
“I managed to get photos from the ground and from my apartment upstairs,” Zhang told Metro.
A car veered off the street at 6th Ave and 18th St, crashing into a T-Mobile. Car is heavily damaged, people have been injured. #NYC #CarCrash pic.twitter.com/d6tXU9lGFp
— Andy Zhang (@andynihao) July 30, 2018
@FDNY, @NYPD, @MountSinaiNYC ambulances, @nyulangone ambulances are on scene. #NYC #CarCrash pic.twitter.com/pkq8VcNUwT
— Andy Zhang (@andynihao) July 30, 2018
SUV crash causes chaos and confusion on 6th Avenue
It was not clear what caused the driver to veer off the street, though White indicated that he believed speeding may have been a factor.
“This is what happens when there are no consequences for speeding drivers. This is what happens when you turn off every speed enforcement camera in New York City,” he said in an emailed statement. “Knowing they are unchecked, drivers are newly emboldened to break the law.”
Police told Pix11 the SUV was for-hire and the driver became distracted when a passenger became sick.
Traffic was briefly halted near the crash site, though it has since started moving again.
There is a T-Mobile store located at 595 6th Ave.
