By Daniel Katzive
A man in a wheelchair was hit by a vehicle Tuesday evening at West 87th Street and Broadway, and one firefighter went the extra mile to help him out.
The pedestrian was struck at about 5:48 p.m. and transported to Mount Sinai hospital in an unknown condition, an FDNY spokesperson told West Side Rag. Police took the driver’s information, but have no record of any further action.
At the scene, EMTs could be seen checking on the victim, who was conscious and speaking.
When it came time to transport the victim to the hospital, firefighters offered to bring the man’s heavy mechanized wheelchair to his apartment building, as it had not been able to fit in the ambulance. Unable to disengage the chair’s motor and push it, though, one of the firefighters solved the problem by sitting in the wheelchair and driving it the six blocks to the man’s Upper West side residence, accompanied by an FDNY officer on foot.
The pair traveled slowly up Broadway towards 93rd Street through heavy rush-hour pedestrian traffic. If any Upper West Siders found it strange that a fireman fully clad in bunker gear was driving a wheelchair up a Broadway sidewalk, none displayed any obvious signs of surprise. But the firefighter’s colleagues on Engine 74 could be seen snapping photos of the event as they circled around to pick them up at the other end of their journey.
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FDNY and NYPD are heroes!
Wish we could get an article about every person injured by a car in our neighborhood, just like we do for other crimes!
Yep. I was crossing the street and was hit by a car on 65th and Amsterdam, in January. I’m recovering physically but it’s been devastating, mentally and emotionally. It’s like Mad Max out there.
That sounds like loads of fun. SMH
I also wish vehicular manslaughter wasn’t punished with a slap on the wrist.
How lucky are we to have such dedicated professionals to help us in our times of need?!
Meanwhile, the driver who ran over a pedestrian escapes mention and consequences.
Ah, NYC. Where if you want to murder someone and get away scot-free, just use your car.
Ran over? Must have glossed over that one.
And when e-bike riders do it, your response will be, but cars.
Because cars severely injure and kill many more people than cars, and there is a huge group of people who are fixated on bikes despite what the numbers say, so it is correct and useful to highlight the relative dangers.
This is not true at all. The biggest problem is that there are NO statistics kept on all the people getting maimed and brain injured by electric bikes and mopeds. Ask any ER room what they are experiencing with regards to e-bikes hitting and running and leaving pedestrians SERIOUSLY maimed for life.
It’s very frustrating that when anti-e-bike people are shown data that shows cars are more dangerous than e-bikes, they say the *real* data doesn’t exist, and they’ve also never attempted to actually collect more accurate data, but if more accurate data did exist they are sure that it would support their position and everyone else should is being disingenuous by asking to see any kind of number supporting their position.
Serious injuries caused by e-bikes are recorded. If the authorities get involved via a 911 call or an ambulance being dispatched, that is recorded in crash mapper data.
But, if you truly believe that there is an epidemic of unrecorded injuries caused by e-bikes then shouldn’t the first step, before any new rules or enforcement, be an attempt to gather the data? Ask for a city council bill to survey local ERs. Or if you have your own data from speaking with ERs, please share it!
Real data _does_ exist and it’s pretty interesting. You mentioned the Crash Mapper website. I selected the options to show data for Manhattan from 1/2023 through 3/2024. Here’s what we see:
Total crashes involving Motorcycle/Moped, E-Bike/Scooter, and Bicycle: 6540
Total crashes involving Car, Truck, SUV, Bus/Van: 2906
I’m in agreement with comment by Sam Katz.
Multiple family – including my kids – and friends have been hit by bicyclists – pedal, ebike, Citibike etc.
And friends on bikes hit by other bicyclists
I’d put a flag on that thing, make yourself more visible to cars.
I’m going to. This was me. It was a yellow taxi 🚕🚖 who made a right hand turn onto 87th and struck me in the middle of the cross walk. Luckily he did see me and locked his brakes up or it would of been even worse. He smacked me good. I needed stitches in my arm. My leg got banged up and a large bruise. Also some cracked bruised ribs. My cart is has some frame damage and the taxi lost his bumper. FDNY was and is fabulous! They took it to my building and my door man put it in my apartment.
Thank you NYPD!!!
Sorry, I meant FDNY!
But thank you NYPD too!
Literally going the extra mile! What a wonderful human being and heartwarming story. I hope the gentleman makes a swift recovery.
This is beaut
I am so grateful for this fire house. They are a lovely group who helped me a few months ago. Bravo!
That’s nice but they couldn’t put it on their truck?
Those electric wheelchairs weigh upwards of 300 lbs. I think it was easier and maybe more fun to ride it up Broadway for a few blocks!!! Those FDNY guys always go the extra mile when someone is in a bad spot or injured. The city is lucky to still have such a brave and dedicated group of good guys.
All in a day’s work!
God bless the FDNY and NYPD
Please STOP ARGUING bikes versus cars! Heedless drivers and riders both endanger pedestrians. Occasionally the drivers and riders are caught and arrested, but seem to receive few if any meaningful consequences. Regardless of statistics, enforcement and other serious measures must increase.
Thank you. More enforcement of laws by NYPD and DOT cameras, plus true crackdowns on ghost plates and repeat offenders are what we need to keep ALL law-abiding pedestrians, bikers, and drivers safe.
By definition, PEDESTRIAN is a person walking on foot. Therefore, a person in a wheelchair cannot be a pedestrian.
You did not do your research. Therefore, you are incorrect:
“Section 130. Pedestrian. Any person afoot or in a wheelchair.”
Source: https://www.ny.gov/pedestrian-safety/additional-information
To clarify–the man was hit by a yellow cab who did not yield. I observed this from a nearby window. The cab driver remained in his car while pedestrians helped him out prior to the arrival of NYPD. The point is, another taxi failed to stop.
How nice is that!
I wish the firehouse Dalmatian was there he would have walked up Broadway with them ! that would have been a great pic !!! Glad FDNY helped Gary out and got his chair back to his building safely and in one piece. FDNY EMS also gets a tip of the hat for their medical expertise. Crossing the streets these days can be a challenge. NYPD needs to get the old scooters and their bikes back on the street to provide some bike lane and motorist law and order.