An Australian mother-and-son have hospitalized after a taxi ploughed into pedestrians in a horror Christmas Day crash in New York City.
The 41-year-old woman and her nine-year-old son were among six people who were injured when the cab crashed outside the Macy’s department store in Herald Square around 4pm local time.
The woman suffered a head and leg injury while her son sustained a cut to his right thigh. Both were rushed to the Weill Cornell Medical Centre for treatment.
Police confirmed the others injured were the 58-year-old driver and three females aged 19, 37, and 49, who all suffered non-life threatening injuries.
The yellow cab was traveling north on the bustling Sixth Avenue strip filled with pedestrians and tourists when it veered onto the sidewalk.
The New York City Police Department said the 58-year-old cab driver suffered a medical episode moments before the crash, the Daily Telegraph reports.
He was taken to hospital in a stable condition for further checks. He has not been identified and police have not yet made any arrests.
Several bystanders rushed to help the injured pedestrians before emergency services arrived at the scene.
The mother and son were among seven people who were injured when the cab (pictured) crashed outside the Macy’s department store in New York City on Christmas Day
Ryan Tucker, 45, whose wife was struck by the cab, told local newspaper amNewYork that the wheels on the cab were still spinning when it came to a stop.
‘That’s when we kind of ripped the fender off, got the car pushed back, and there was a little boy,’ Mr Tucker said.
‘I grabbed him and sat just over in the corner. His dad came running over eventually, and then I kind of sat with him and talked to him for three or four minutes just to make sure he was okay.’
Pictures from the scene showed the significant damage to the front of the cab.
A spokesman from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade told Daily Mail Australia officials are providing assistance to the mother and her son.
‘The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is providing consular assistance to two Australians in the United States of America,’ the spokesman said.
‘Owing to our privacy obligations we are unable to provide further comment.’
The yellow cab (pictured) was traveling north on the bustling Sixth Avenue strip that was filled with pedestrians and tourists when it veered off onto the sidewalk
The cab driver was taken to hospital in a stable condition for further checks and police have not yet made any arrests (pictured crash scene)
Herald Square is one of the most popular commercial and shopping precincts in Midtown Manhattan, and only around 300 metres down Broadway from Times Square.
The area is also located just minutes away from the iconic Madison Square Garden.
