A woman walking in midtown Tuesday morning was hit by a flying blade that detached from a machine, police said. The 43-year-old woman, whose name was not released, was walking near 48th Street and Ninth Avenue at about 9 a.m. when she was hit in her leg.
Police said a blade from a machine being used to tear up a street in order to replace a water main there detached and flew about 100 feet. It first hit a tree and then bounced off, hitting the woman.
She was taken to Bellevue Hospital Center.
The crew was a private company sub-contracted out by the city’s Department of Design and Construction.
“The contractor’s safety inspector was on scene immediately after the accident and DDC’s site-safety inspectors are investigating,” said a DDC spokesman in an e-mail. “We have directed the contractor to not use any other saws on the job site until the equipment is inspected and confirmed to be in proper working condition.”
The construction is part of a larger years-long project to replace many outdated water mains in the area.
