A cab struck and injured a Tribeca cyclist turning off Greenwich St. Tuesday.
According to witnesses, the cab was turning left onto Franklin St. at about 6 p.m. July 15 when he hit the biker, Clyde Wauchope, 22.
Witnesses said Wauchope had some nasty gashes on his head and his knees were badly swollen, but he was fully conscious and telling his group of concerned onlookers that he was okay just after the accident. The F.D.N.Y. carried him on a stretcher into an ambulance.
The owner of Steak and Burger Co., who identified himself only as Steven, witnessed the direct aftermath of the accident. “He looked pretty cut up,” Steven said of the cyclist. “The cab driver was just saying ‘I was looking for cars, not so much for bikes.’”
“This is a bad intersection,” Steven said, gesturing toward the juncture outside his restaurant. “Cars just hang around that corner real fast without looking. I just hope none of the neighborhood kids get hit. There are a lot of kids around here.”
He said he saw a car strike and kill a dog that was being walked across the same intersection several months ago.
Neither the F.D.N.Y. nor the First Precinct commented on the accident, but it appeared to witnesses that the police gave the cab driver a ticket after the cyclist was removed from the scene.
Community Board 1 held a meeting last week about traffic safety concerns on Greenwich and Duane Sts., just three blocks south of Franklin St. Residents have been fighting for years to get a traffic light there because they say Greenwich St. traffic is too fast and dangerous. Steven said that he would also like to see a light installed at Franklin St.
— James S. Woodman
