The distraught driver of a yellow taxi that struck a man in SoHo on Friday broke down in tears as he told reporters how morning sunlight blinded him to the pedestrian in his path — until it was too late.
“I was making the turn and there was too much sun. I didn’t see anyone,” said driver Kha-am Rahaman. “He fell. I braked and got out. I saw him bleeding from the head, and his leg was, like, half under the front left wheel.
“His eyes were closed, he wasn’t really moving. He didn’t say anything.” said the devastated cabbie .
The collision at Spring and Crosby streets happened around 8:20 a.m., and left the unnamed, 31-year-old pedestrian pinned beneath Rahaman’s vehicle until rescue workers freed him, fire department officials said. He was rushed in critical condition to Bellevue Hospital and is expected to survive his injuries, police said.
“I just heard a noise and I jumped,” said witness Mohamed, Abouelela, 38, who was running a nearby coffee and snack stand. “I turned and the guys leg was under the car, he was bleeding from the head. People were with him asking questions and someone called 911.”
Abouelela said the taxi had a fare — a woman who sat inside the vehicle for a few minutes, then got out and walked away without a word.
Police said they did not expect to charge Rahaman, 30, in the accident. But the cabbie, who said he’s been driving for 1 1/2 years, was tormented by what he’d done and unsure whether he’d ever get behind a taxi wheel again.
“I’m not okay,” said Rahaman. “I’m so upset about this. I don’t know why this happened this morning.”
“I don’t think I want to do this anymore,” he said of taxi-driving in the city. “Nothing like this has ever happened before .”