The owner of a fruit bowl that barely escaped injury when an out-of-control driver struck his business in Midtown was back on track within 24 hours.
Ugur Dikici, 44, worked until 4 a.m. Saturday to get his business ready for customers.
Dikici got help from friends who gave him some metal stalls and luckily had extra goods in his truck.
“I can not lose a day. I have family. I have two children – 13 and 16. My daughter, she is preparing for college. It is difficult, ” he said. ‘And the business is not like before. In recent years, you know, the pandemic – it’s slow. I am here seven days a week. ”
“I worked until four in the morning,” he said. “I’m tired. But I’m used to it. I usually work 16 or 17 hours a day.
One of the survivors of the domino-like crash, George Soliman, 54, told The Post he tried to move out of the way but was not fast enough.
The fruit stand with its contents and scaffolding falls on him. He has pain in his knees, arms, back, it hurts to turn his head from side to side.
“I see the car coming,” Soliman recalled. ‘It came quickly – crazy man, crazy man. It hit everything – tree, tree. I fell into the street. I fall on my face. Everything comes down to us. The fruit over me. The scaffolding falls on my back and my knee and my arms and my fingers. Thank you, God! Thank you, God! I’m alive. I’m really happy. ”
Soliman’s friend Sohaib Annabi, who works for Dikici, was also injured. The 27-year-old is expected to be married in a few months, but had to take leave on Saturday.
‘I’m not sure when I’m going to work again. Today, when I wake up, my back hurts. “When I walk, I do not walk properly,” said Annabi.
“When I saw the video and talked to my brother and a good friend, I cried,” he said, adding, “I could have died. I will not talk to you here. But thank God, I live. ”
The incident took place around 08:30 when a 66-year-old man, who was later found to have a medical episode, crashed his Nissan van into a black Toyota Camry from behind in Second Avenue. dining area near East 50th Street.
Two young boys, aged 5 and 7 respectively, were hit by flying debris from the empty outdoor setting at Crave Fishbar, police said.
The destruction continues for another block. According to police and witnesses, the van crashed into Dikici’s fruit stall and some scaffolding before coming to a stop at East 49th Street. In all, seven people were injured.