The owner of a fruit stand who narrowly escaped injury when a rudderless driver drove into his Midtown facility was back up and running 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’t lose a day. I have family. I have two children – 13 and 16. My daughter is preparing for college. It is difficult he said. ‘And the company is no longer like it was before. In the past year – you know, the pandemic – it’s been slow. I’m here seven days a week. “
“I worked until four in the morning,” he said. “I’m tired. But I’m used to it. Usually I work 16 or 17 hours a day.
One of the survivors of the domino-esque crash, George Soliman, 54, told The Post he tried to step aside, but wasn’t fast enough.
The fruit stand with its contents and the scaffolding fell on him. He has pain in his knees, arms, back, it hurts to turn his head back and forth.
“I see the car is coming,” Soliman recalled. ‘It came quickly – crazy man, crazy man. It hit everything – boom, boom. I fell on the street. I fall on my face. Everything came down to us. The fruits all over me. The scaffolding fell on my back and my knee and my arms and fingers. Thank you God! Thank you God! I am alive. I’m really lucky. “
Soliman’s friend, Sohaib Annabi, who works for Dikici, was also injured. The 27-year-old is scheduled to get married in a few months, but had to take Saturday off.
“I’m not sure when I’ll get back to work. Today when I woke up my back hurts. When I walk, I don’t walk well, ”said Annabi.
‘When I saw the video and talked to my brother and close friend, I cried,’ he said, adding, ‘I could have died. I wouldn’t talk to you here. But thank God, I’m alive. “
The incident took place around 8:30 a.m., when a 66-year-old man, who was later determined to have had a medical episode, rammed his Nissan van into a black Toyota Camry from behind on Second Avenue and through the car. the dining area near East 50th Street.
Two young boys, ages 5 and 7, were hit by flying debris from the empty outdoor setup at Crave Fishbar, police said.
The destruction continued for another block. The van crashed into Dikici’s fruit stand and scaffolding before coming to a stop on East 49th Street, police and witnesses said. In total, seven people were injured.