Two people injured after flying manhole cover hit taxi

A New York taxi driver and his passenger were injured when the yellow cab was struck by a flying manhole cover early on Monday morning. At around 6:30am, the manhole exploded at 44th Street and Lexington Avenue. Debris from the explosion crashed into a taxi. The cover hit the hood of the taxi and shot through the windshield.

Good Samaritan Bernard Vickers rushed to assist the injured people. “I just happened to look and saw what happened, and I immediately reacted,” Vickers said. After hearing a loud boom, Vickers saw the mangled taxi outside the Starbucks Coffee where he works. Without hesitation, Vickers jumped into action, and was first to free the driver.
“I ran outside to check on the cab’s passenger and driver. The driver’s window was down, so I helped him get out the window,” he said. Next, Vickers helped the passenger out. “He was scared, he was traumatised, and as he was climbing out the sunroof, he, like, rolled - so I just made sure he landed safely,” Vickers said.

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The driver and the passenger were taken to Bellevue Hospital Center and were treated for minor injuries. By Monday night, relatives at the driver’s home said he was out of the hospital. The manhole which exploded was a large, square grate in the middle of the road. It is thought a problem with an underground electrical cable may have caused the blast.