By Olivia Scheck
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — An elderly man who was struck by an out-of-control cab that careened into a coffee shop early Sunday reportedly had surgery to repair a broken neck and is facing a long recovery process.
Preston Krupin, 71, remains at Bellevue Hospital after undergoing surgery for a fractured neck sustained when a taxi jumped a curb on First Avenue and East Third Street, smashing into The Bean coffee shop and injuring four others, according to reports.
Krupin also needs surgery to repair a broken leg, the New York Post reported.
The incident occurred about 1:25 a.m., when the cab driving northbound on First Avenue collided with a Jeep that was attempting to make a right turn on to the avenue from East Third Street, police said.
The yellow SUV taxi then plowed over a pedestrian island and jumped on to the curb, crashing headfirst into the coffee shop where Krupin was at the time, police said.
"All I remember is that he was swerving," the cab's passenger, Kristin Kunkel, 30, told the New York Post. "I put my hands in front of my face, and the next thing I knew, I was in the coffee shop."
Kunkel reportedly lost two front teeth in the crash, and two cyclists who were also struck suffered minor injuries, police said.
The taxi driver, Syed Nazir, 49, was recovering from back and neck injuries, the Post reported.
Nazir and the driver of the Jeep, Robert Batista, 19, both came up negative in blood-alcohol tests administered by police, according to the paper.
The Bean was back open for business just hours after the crash, and an employee answering the phone there Tuesday said the place has been “very busy” since the incident.
“Everyone’s coming in asking about it,” she said.
