It happened on Third Avenue in Murray Hill, Manhattan at around 2 a.m. The driver of a Honda Civic sedan blew several red lights traveling at a speed of least 100 miles per hour, before being involved in a headlong crash with a tractor-trailer belonging to the Department of Transportation. The truck then hit a yellow cab. The driver and a passenger were hospitalized with one in a critical condition.
Honda speeds through red lights before being hit and dragged by DOT vehicle
Horrified bystanders saw the Honda Civic as it sped down the street, running through several red lights before finally crashing into the tractor-trailer.
The car ended up lodged under the cab of the truck with its top completely sheared off, according to officials.
Two men clinging to life after they’re pulled from horrific crash https://t.co/EoxAwvwbR6 pic.twitter.com/EXXEB27Wgd
— Connie C (@ConnieC1313) July 19, 2017
Witnesses recount the accident
The manager of Insomina Cookies across the street said the driver must have been going around 120 miles per hour when it crashed. Donald Johnson said he saw the Honda Civic running through red lights, heading uptown on Third Street. He said it was when the vehicle reached the corner of 34th Street, where the truck had a green light that it crashed directly into the Honda, which had blown the red light.
As reported by CBS New York, after the truck T-boned the car, it was dragged across 34th Street and slammed into a yellow cab close by. The New York Post quotes Ell Ian, who was at a hookah lounge directly across from the scene of the accident and had run over to try and help both the driver and passenger until emergency medical services arrived at the scene.
New: 4 Hurt Following Multi-Vehicle Crash In Murray Hill « CBS New York https://t.co/GltNyIyqVE
— Culture Trend (@Lila34079795) July 19, 2017
Ian said they tried to wake up the driver and passenger, but the two Asian males were covered in blood, especially the driver. Ian also said the car was traveling at speed from Third Street when the truck crashed into the Honda and a yellow cab.
Ian believed the car was going to blow up, saying the whole thing was crazy and calling the driver and passenger “crazy, damn kids.”
Spoiler: It does not end well https://t.co/ApqVhnOkrC
— New York Post (@nypost) July 19, 2017
Driver and passenger in hospital
The call was received by the Fire Department at around 2:28 a.m. and emergency medical services transferred a total of four people to the Bellevue Hospital in New York. Of the two in the Honda Civic, one had flatlined at the scene of the crash, but an EMS paramedic revived him. He remains in a critical condition in hospital. The driver is in a serious, but reportedly stable condition. The other two patients were the cab and truck drivers, who received treatment for minor injuries.
The NYPD is still investigating the incident, but police sources say the Honda driver will likely be charged.