Pictured: The British tourist whose foot was severed by a NYC taxi driver as he 'slammed on the gas while FIGHTING with a cyclist'
- Witnesses described out-of-control taxi hitting cyclist and plowing into pedestrians in Midtown around 11am on Tuesday
- Sian Green was eating a hot dog by a fountain when she was hit
- Dr Mehmet Oz, who has an office across the street, ran to help the victims
- Credited a plumber with saving her life for using his belt for a tourniquet
- Pizza truck owner rushed to put her severed foot on ice
By LYDIA WARREN
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Sian Green, 23, was hit by a taxi cab Tuesday morning in a horrific accident that severed her foot
A young British tourist's foot was severed after an out-of-control New York City taxi driver ploughed into her after hitting a cyclist.
Sian Green, 23, had only arrived in the city from England on Monday nightwhen she was struck by the vehicle in midtown Manhattan yesterday morning near the Rockefeller Center.
TV personality Dr. Mehmet Oz, who has an office nearby, was among the people who rushed to help the holidaymaker.
A plumber used his belt to make a life-saving tourniquet for the woman's leg while a pizza truck owner raced to put her severed foot on ice.
Ms Green had reportedly just bought a hot dog and was eating it by the fountain with a female friend when she was hit by the cab.
Witnesses said the vehicle was on Sixth Avenue and 49th Street just after 11am when it hit the cyclist before jumping the curb, crashing into the woman and coming to a stop by a fountain.
She remained conscious throughout the ordeal and was rushed to Bellevue Hospital where she is undergoing surgery. One of her legs was severed at the ankle and she suffered injuries to the other.
The cab driver, 24-year-old Faysal Kabir Mohammad Himon of Queens, was issued a summons for being an unauthorized driver and then set free, according to the New York Daily News. The Daily News spoke to Himon at the police precinct.
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The cab driver, 24, Faysal Kabir Mohammad Himon of Queens, (right) was issued a summons for being an unauthorized driver and then set free
Crash scene: A runaway taxi came to a stop on the curb in Midtown, New York after swerving to avoid a cyclist and plowing into pedestrians. A British tourist suffered a severed foot in the crash
Distressed: He is seen speaking to a woman at the scene while the English tourist was taken to hospital
Heroes: A plumber fashioned his belt into a tourniquet while a hot dog vendor rushed to put the leg on ice
What appears to be blood is seen on the front left bumper of a taxi that hit a British tourist on Tuesday
'I am in shock,' said Himon, a Bangladeshi immigrant who has been a taxi driver since 2010. 'Nothing like this has happened to me before.' His record shows he had three moving violations in 2011 for running a red light and speeding.
Himon's brother said that Himon had gotten into a fight with the cyclist just before the accident and that 'He went to hit the brake and stepped on the accelerator instead.'
But the cyclist, 40-year-old Kenneth Olivo, said Himon had cut him off moments before the crash and started honking, then struck him.
'I told him to stop because I’m trying to go forward and people are crossing,' the cyclist said. 'He loses his patience. He gets angry. He accelerates. Hits me.'
Horrific: One of her legs was severed at the ankle and she suffered injuries to the other.
Ms Green is British citizen who arrived in New York Monday nightfor a visit
Green had reportedly just bought a hot dog and was eating it by a fountain with a female friend when she was hit by the cab
She remained conscious throughout the ordeal and was rushed to Bellevue Hospital where she is undergoing surgery
Sian Green poses with a dolphin during a recent trip
David Justino, a 44-year-old plumber who witnessed the crash as he took a coffee break, told NBC he removed his belt and fashioned a tourniquet for the woman's leg before paramedics arrived.
'He hit the girl, she flew up in the air, her leg was severed right off ... so I just grabbed my belt, went over, lifted her up, put it on, held it,' he said.
'She was conscious the whole time, the poor thing,' he added to the New York Daily News. 'I wished she would have passed out... [She is a] strong girl, a brave girl.'
Dr Oz, who works at studios nearby, raced to the scene when he heard the crash and saw Justino put on the tourniquet - which the doctor said was crucial to her survival.
Probe: New York City Police officers investigate the scene after the dramatic crash at 11am Tuesday
Heroic: In an image he shared on Facebook, Dr Mehmet Oz, left, poses with plumber David Justino, who Oz praised for his quick action when he took off his belt to act as a tourniquet on the woman's leg
The tourniquet 'was very smart thinking,' Oz said, adding that 'they saved her life'.
Dr Oz told the Wall Street Journal that the woman was bleeding profusely from her leg. He said that her friend who witnessed the event remained 'in a daze'.
Max Crespo, who owns a pizza truck at the intersection, told DNAinfo that he used a dog leash to help with the tourniquet and put the severed foot in a bucket of ice.
'I picked up the leg and put it in a cooler of ice,' said Crespo. 'We were just telling her, everything is going to be OK, help is on the way.'
Crespo was with his girlfriend, supermodel Heide Lindgren, who wrote on Twitter after the crash: 'I think my boyfriend might be Superman.'
Mohammed Elsayed, a hot dog vendor on 50th St. and Sixth Ave, also raced to collect ice and helped security guards pack the severed foot, which was found beneath the taxi with one of her sandals.
An area near the Rockefeller Center is sealed off at the scene of the taxi crash
Emergency: TV personality Dr. Mehmet Oz, pictured, was near and rushed to the scene to help victims
Acting on impulse: Dr Oz rushed from his office which is just across the street as the scene unfolded
The 40-year-old cyclist, whom the taxi had swerved to avoid hitting, would not give his name. He suffered minor injuries and his knee was bandaged at the scene
Sources told the New York Daily News that doctors are trying to reattach the foot.
Witnesses said that the cyclist was also hit and thrown over the cab's hood before it hit the woman. Police said he had been hit but had only suffered minor injuries.
Dr Oz added: 'It's really a miracle on the corner of 49th and 6th, one of New York City's busiest corners, that not more people were hurt in this accident.'
Authorities have not said what caused the driver to jump the curb, but the cyclist told DNAinfo that the driver tried to make a left as the cyclist was passing him.
'I told him, "Stop",' he said. 'He gets angry. He honked his horn and accelerates.'
He said the driver then hit him, knocking him on the car's hood. The driver has not been charged but police are investigating. The cab company, NYC Taxi Group, declined to comment.
Witnesses said that the cyclist was also hit and thrown over the cab's hood before it hit Green (pictured)
Dramatic: A cyclist was also hit by the cab and suffered minor injuries. The woman remains in critical condition
New York City Police officers investigate the taxi cab that jumped the curb
Officers are pictured on scene after the horrific crash
After hitting the cyclist and woman, the taxi came to a stop perched on a granite wall that surrounds a fountain in front of a building. The woman's severed foot could be seen beneath the taxi.
Other witnesses told Fox that 'multiple people' were hit.
'As we were crossing [the street] with other pedestrians, the cab started to pull into the crosswalk,' said witness Jeffrey Hayes, who is in town from Massachusetts to visit family.
'The was a man riding along this way on his bicycle with a backpack and he got picked up by the cabbie and was thrown up on the hood and up on his windshield.
'The cab really accelerated at a great speed. We couldn't believe it,' he said. 'It smashed into the barrier here. There was a woman... It just nailed her.'
Dr Oz, a heart surgeon, uploaded an image of him and the hero plumber to Facebook after the incident. He also described the moment he heard the crash.
Damaged: A cyclist was thrown from his bike and over the hood of the taxi as it lost control on Tuesday
'While in a meeting in our offices near Rockefeller Center, I heard an accident occur on the street below,' he wrote. A taxi driver lost control of his cab and collided with a woman, badly injuring her leg.
'David Justino, a plumber from New York, took action, removing his belt and using it as a tourniquet.
'With the help of NYC first responders, who are the best in the world, the woman was treated and rushed to a local hospital.
'I applaud the quick thinking and heroic actions of David and the first responders. My prayers are with the victim for a speedy recovery.'
Police are questioning the taxi driver.
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