TV’s Dr. Oz Rushes to Scene of Taxi Accident
Published at
Desiree Navarro/WireImage(NEW YORK) — Dr. Mehmet Oz of The Dr. Oz Show came to the aid of a young woman who was seriously injured Tuesday when an out-of-control taxi jumped the curb near the New York City studio in which he tapes the series.
After striking a cyclist, the cab careened onto the sidewalk near Rockefeller Center, ramming right into 23-year-old British tourist Sian Green. Her left leg was severed by the impact, and her right one was mangled in the morning wreck.
ABC News affiliate WABC-TV reports Oz heard the accident and rushed to help out the victim, who was already being treated by emergency medical crews. The surgeon and TV host helped out and waited at the scene until ambulances arrived, but he credited a passerby, a plumber named David Justino, with saving the woman’s life.
Before Dr. Oz got to the scene, Justino, 44, fashioned his belt into a tourniquet, preventing the woman from bleeding to death. Other passersby helped as well: Magdy Elsayed, a food truck owner, rushed over a cooler, while other vendors donated ice to keep the severed limb preserved.
Dr. Oz wrote on his Facebook page Tuesday, “I applaud the quick thinking and heroic actions of David and the first responders. My prayers are with the victim for a speedy recovery.”
The cab’s driver and the bicyclist blamed each other for the accident, which is still under investigation. The driver, 24-year-old Mohammad Himon, was questioned on the scene by police for over an hour and released after being slapped with multiple summonses.
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio