A pedicab speeding down the bike lane of the Williamsburg Bridge crashed into a yellow cab today, seriously injuring the pedaling driver and one of his three passengers, police said.
The pedicab flipped over on its when the crash occurred at 7:27 a.m. at Bedford Avenue between Fifth and Sixth Streets. The wheel snapped in two.
The driver, in his 30s. hit his head on the curb and was unconscious when cops arrived. He taken to Bellevue Hospital, as was one of his two female passengers, who is 22, cops said. Both were in serious condition.
The other passengers, a man and a woman, apparently weren’t badly hurt.
Cops said the passengers told the pedicab driver to slow down because he was going too fast.
The driver turned to talk to them over his shoulder and then crashed into the cab, cops said.
“He was coming at me too fast,” said Rafiqul Islm, 30, the taxi driver. “It was his fault.”
“There was yelling when they hit me,” he added.
Cops said two passengers were from Brooklyn and the third was from out of state. They said no criminality was suspected.
Pedicabs are not allowed on the bridge. A sign says the bike lane is for bicycles and pedestrians.
The city has attempted to regulate the free-wheeling pedicab industry and limit the number of pedicabs to 325, but the efforts have been tied in legal battles.
Rides cost $10 to $20 but the amount is negotiable. Drivers, who may or may not have green cards, aggressively pursue passengers.