Logo
US NewsUS News

An out-of-control yellow cab jumped an Upper East Side curb Friday morning and slammed into a nearby deli worker on the sidewalk, authorities and witnesses said.

Tony Calle rests in his hospital bed after the scary accident.Stephanie PagonesTony Calle rests in his hospital bed after the scary accident.Stephanie Pagones

Antonio “Tony” Calle, 61, was heading down to the basement of York Deli to get cans of soup when he was struck by the cab at around 9 a.m. on York Avenue near East 79th Street, his family and cops said.

“Here is where I’m gonna’ die,” Calle told The Post — recalling what he was thinking — from his hospital bed.

“Out of nowhere, the car just came … I was working fine, and everything was fine, and of nowhere it popped up,” Calle said in Spanish, with his 25-year-old daughter Rosalba translating.

Responding police officers told Calle he is “alive by miracle,” the injured man said.

His co-worker, Gustavo Menjiao, said, [The cab] got him on one side of the body. He couldn’t move his leg. It’s very scary.”

Both Calle and the 57-year-old taxi driver suffered minor injuries in the crash.

The cabbie told police that he was in line at a taxi stand on York Avenue when he “lost consciousness” as the result of some kind of medical episode and wound up on the sidewalk, police sources said.

Manny Zavala, 39, a doorman across the street ran over the scene after he heard the impact.

“It was a bang and a loud crunch. We ran outside,” Zavala said. “The taxi cab was on the sidewalk in front of the deli. And one of the deli workers was on the floor and the other deli workers were putting towels under his head. He was right beside it.”

Zavala added that the area corner is “notorious” for accidents.

The cab driver, who was being treated at the hospital, is not expected to be charged.

Comments
anonymous profile image
Powered by RoundtableBuilt on infrastructure designed for real-time media. Learn more at RTB.io.© Roundtable 2026. By using this site you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy