A witness says an overnight taxi trash narrowly missed a sleeping homeless man | Upper East Site
A witness says an overnight taxi trash narrowly missed a sleeping homeless man | Jacqueline Cerniglia Dion, Upper East Site

Crazy Overnight Taxi Crash Miraculously Misses Sleeping Homeless Man: Witness

A homeless man sleeping near an Upper East Side street corner is lucky to be alive after an out-of-control taxi jumped the curb overnight and slammed into a tree and building, coming to rest just inches from where he was laying down. A witness tells Upper East Site that even the first responders could not believe the man’s luck.

“Police just kept saying ‘I don’t get it, how did this happen? How is it even possible?’” said neighbor Jacqueline Cerniglia Dion, recounting the moments after the frightening collision that woke her up just before 3:30 am Saturday morning. 

The rear of the taxi slammed the wall inches from the sleeping homeless man
The rear of the taxi slammed the wall inches from the sleeping homeless man | Jacqueline Cerniglia Dion

The taxi’s driver lost control on East 68th Street, just east of Third Avenue, went up on the sidewalk and crashed into the tree with such force, it appears the rear end of the Toyota swung around to the right, the rear-end slamming into the building steps from the sleeping homeless man. 

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In the light of day, a hole could be seen punched through the metal facade of the building from the impact of the taxi — streaks of yellow paint decorate the area around the damage.

The SUV punched a hole through the metal facade next to the sleeping man | Upper East Site
The SUV punched a hole through the metal facade next to the sleeping man | Upper East Site

In photos shared with Upper East Site, bags packed with belongings from the man’s doorway encampment can be seen sitting inches from the rear end of the SUV smashed into the building. Dion says the homeless man just moved into that spot just a day earlier.

“He’s always in front of Food Emporium and legit just moved to this new spot by [the] vacant old HSBC bank yesterday,” she said.

The SUV punched a hole through the metal facade next to the sleeping man | Upper East Site
The SUV punched a hole through the metal facade next to the sleeping man | Upper East Site

Upper East Site tried to ask the man about the death-defying crash, but he was still in a deep slumber when approached around 10:00 am Saturday — Dion says the man refused to speak with bewildered police after the crash as well.

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FDNY officials tell Upper East Site the driver of the taxi had to be removed from the vehicle by firefighters — the SUV’s front door could be seen twisted in the wrong direction to free him from the vehicle.

The taxi driver was rushed to Weill Cornell Medical Center after the crash
The taxi driver was rushed to Weill Cornell Medical Center after the crash | Jacqueline Cerniglia Dion

An instruction manual for a neck brace apparently used by paramedics to stabilize the driver’s neck after the crash was discarded at the scene, while the driver himself was rushed to Weill Cornell Medical Center for treatment. 

Details on the driver’s condition were not immediately available. 

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