Two taxis collided at the intersection of Fourth St. and Avenue A last Friday about 7 a.m., causing one to go out of control, mowing down a pay phone before hurtling onto the sidewalk and into the window of an Independence Bank branch. Susan Stetzer, Community Board 3 district manager, who lives across the street, said she heard the accident through her open window. “First, what I heard was a really long skidding sound before I heard the crash,” she said. According to witnesses at the scene, one cab had been speeding and the other making a U-turn after picking up a passenger and the speeding cab veered into the bank. According to firefighters who responded, passengers in both taxis and the driver of the speeding cab suffered relatively mild injuries and were taken to Bellevue hospital. Although taxi congestion connected with the East Village’s bar and club scene is an ongoing issue, Stetzer said, this accident was obviously not nightlife related.
