The driver of an out-of-control taxi was critically injured when he hopped a curb and slammed into a pole just steps from the Chinese consulate in Manhattan on Thursday, police said.
Three others were also hurt when the yellow cab smashed head-on into a large green traffic pole on the sidewalk along Twelfth Avenue near West 42nd Street just before 2:30 p.m., leaving the car heavily damaged, according to photos.
The wreck happened just outside the Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in Hell’s Kitchen.
A taxi cab slammed into a pole just outside the Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in New York City. William Farrington
The taxi cab clipped the Chinese consulate, injuring four, according to police sources. William FarringtonInvestigators believe the crash was accidental, a police source told The Post.
The cabbie was taken to Bellevue Hospital with critical injuries.
His two passengers – a 54-year-old-woman and a 61-year-old man – and a man, 33, on the sidewalk were hospitalized in stable condition.
Photos showed a man wearing a security guard uniform being hauled off in a stretcher.
Video showed the taxi’s bright yellow hood wrapped around the steel pole.
The cab’s brightly colored doors flew off during the accident and were strewn onto the street and the sidewalk.
