SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — Police say the taxi driver was having a medical issue when he hit the gas and drove up onto the sidewalk injuring three people in San Francisco.
A taxi cab crashed into a shoeshine kiosk on the sidewalk on Sutter and Sansome streets Tuesday afternoon hitting two pedestrians.
The 59-year-old driver from Burlingame cooperated with the investigation. He was taken to the hospital and has been released.
The two pedestrians, a man in his 40s and a man in his 60s are still in the hospital and have life-threatening injuries.
The Yellow Cab jumped the curb, went on to the sidewalk and crashed into a newsstand and then a shoeshine stand at around 3:35 p.m.
The shoe shiner and his assistant were both working when they were hit by the cab and taken to the hospital.
A friend of the shoe shiner told KRON4 his name is Saleem Bey and his assistant’s name is “Jazz” who has a serious head injury.
Bey has a pin in his knee and will have another surgery on Friday.
The taxi driver was among those taken to the hospital, police said.
“I had just come out of the building over here, and was gonna cross the street and heard what sounded like an explosion,” witness Tom Booher said. “I looked up and there were pieces of stuff flying everywhere right where the shoeshine guy’s stand used to be and the restroom that was over there. I mean, there was no skidding, it didn’t sound like there was any brakes, it was just – it did sound like an explosion.”
A GoFundMe page has been set up for one of the shoeshiners hurt in the crash.Stay with KRON4 News for updates