The first full day of a dream vacation turned into midtown mayhem for a British tourist Tuesday when a cabbie who had been arguing with a bicyclist lost control of the taxi and mowed her down on a sidewalk — severing her left foot.
Siân Green, 23, arrived in New York Monday night with one of her best friends for a trip they had anticipated with excitement on Instagram. The next day, they bought hot dogs at Sixth Ave. and 50th St. about 11:20 a.m. in the sun-drenched city. Green and her friend, Keshia Warren, were sitting on the ledge of a fountain in a crowded plaza on the avenue.
They were chowing down on the hot dogs when the yellow cab jumped the curb at 49th St. and plowed into Green, sending her flying and springing several good Samaritans into action. Among the heroes were a food vendor, a plumber and television’s Dr. Oz.
David Justino, a plumber who had been working in the area, stripped off his Carhartt tool belt and used it as a tourniquet. His quick thinking may have saved Green’s life.
“The real hero of the day is plumber Dave, just an average Joe, an average Dave, just walking along the street, but he saved her life,” said Dr. Mehmet Oz, whose T-shirt and jeans were spattered with blood. “It’s very smart thinking. A simple thing like a union plumber’s belt can save your life.”
The two friends — who sport matching tattoos on their arms that read “les amis,” French for “friends” — were so eager to leave on the excursion that Green posted a countdown clock on Instagram about a month ago.
“New York plzzzzz hurry up! #newyork #excited #August #lovinglife” she posted on her iPhone.
Justino said he was awed by the composure of the victim, calling her “a strong girl, a brave girl.”
“Her left leg was severed off, the other was mangled,” he said. “She was conscious the whole time, the poor thing. I wished she would have passed out.”
Green’s severed, sandal-clad foot was recovered at the scene and doctors at Bellevue Hospital tried in vain to reattach it. At least two other people were also being treated at area hospitals for less serious injuries.
Warren, who sources said was staying with Green at the Hotel Pennsylvania, escaped the incident unharmed. According to their Facebook pages, both girls live in Leicester, England, about 100 miles north of London. Green’s page says she works at fashion retailer Hugo Boss, while Warren’s page says she studied at Leicester College. Photos abound of the exuberant British beauties, dressed to the nines, laughing and posing together.
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Green’s family in England spoke to local media there before hopping on a flight to New York City to be with her.
“She is in recovery now, and they have had to amputate what’s left of her foot,” said her father, Jason, outside their home in New Parks in central England’s Leicestershire county.
“Her friend Keshia is still in shock. We are a really close family we are all devastated by what has happened. We don’t know what to say,” he added. “We just want to be at our daughter’s side right now.”
Faysal Kabir Mohammad Himon, the 24-year-old cabbie with a checkered driving history, said the wreck was a horrible accident. And he blamed it on an angry bicyclist who he says was banging on the hood of the cab before he lost control.
“I’m not sure what happened next,” Himon told The News. “I was up on the curb.”
The cabbie was remorseful.
“I feel really bad about the lady,” said Himon, a married Bangladeshi immigrant who has been driving a cab since 2010. “I didn’t realize she was underneath my car. I’ll never forget her and I’ll never forgive myself.”
He was issued a summons for “unauthorized use,” an administrative violation for not submitting a form notifying the Taxi and Limousine Commission that he would be driving that particular cab.
“Nothing like this has happened to me before,” Himon said.
Still, Himon has three blemishes on his taxi driving record — a parking violation, a citation for smoking in his cab, and a citation for cutting in line at a taxi stand.
He also racked up three moving violations in 2011 for everything from running a red light to speeding, resulting in nine points against his license, records show.
Meanwhile, bike messenger Kenneth Olivo gave a conflicting account of the crash, insisting the cabbie caused the catastrophe by striking him, then careening out of control.
“I told him to stop because I’m trying to go forward and people are crossing,” said Olivo, 40, sporting a bandage on his thigh. “He loses his patience. He gets angry. He accelerates. Hits me.”
Olivo told reporters he was heading north on Sixth Ave. and so was the cab. He was pedaling to the right of the cab when it cut him off and the driver laid into the horn, he said.
Suddenly, the cyclist said, “I’m on the roof of a car like in a Steven Seagal movie, okay. And I’m on the sidewalk. I’m like this looking up at the sky.”
Mohammed Elsayed, who operates a food stand on the corner, said he had just sold Green and Warren hot dogs with ketchup and mustard.
“They were beautiful girls, smiling and so happy to be in New York,” said Fathy Mosad, another food vendor.
Then, out of the blue, the cab smashed into Green.
“Her leg was out, it was just out under the cab on the sidewalk,” a horrified Elsayed said. “I ran with ice and a bucket. We put the foot in the bucket. There was a lot of blood.”
Elsayed said the woman was too stunned to scream.
“She was awake, but she couldn’t talk,” he said.
Fahad Munawar, a 21-year-old tourist from Texas, said he was sitting on the ledge of the fountain and saw the cab bearing down on the women.
“It looked like it was out of control,” he said. “We didn’t even hear the brakes.”
The next thing Munawar heard was a woman “screaming on the other side.”
Justino, who was working at a nearby Duane Reade and on his coffee break, said his first aid training kicked in the minute the victim “flew up in the air.”
“I just grabbed my belt, went over, lifted her up, put it on, held it,” he said.
Justino said the injured woman’s friend grabbed a dog leash from a passerby “and held the other leg until Dr. Oz came over. He said we were doing good.”
The hero plumber said he could tell the girl was badly hurt.
“From the shin down, it was gone,” he said. “It was too much blood.”
Oz, who has an office in the area, said he heard the commotion and ran over to help.
On his Facebook page, he lauded Justino: “I applaud the quick thinking and heroic actions of David and the first responders. “
Sixth Ave. ground to a halt as the dramatic rescue was underway.
“It was terrifying,” said Louis Burgdorf, 27, who watched it unfold from his second-floor office in Rockefeller Plaza.
Burgdorf said the rescue started immediately.
“If this woman survives it is because people rushed over so quickly to help,” he said. “It was crucial.”
With Ginger Adams Otis, Joey Scarborough, Corinne Lestch, Andy Mai, Lachlan Cartwright and Erik Badia
