By Leslie Albrecht and Patrick Hedlund
DNAinfo Staff
GRAMERCY — A woman riding in a taxi was injured Monday afternoon when a yellow cab lost its brakes and crashed into a building in Gramercy, authorities said.
Police at the scene of the accident at Park Avenue South and East 18th Street said the passenger, believed to be about 30 years old, hit her head on the cab's back seat credit card machine when the cab smashed into 222 Park Avenue South.
The passenger was conscious and alert at the scene, police said, and was taken to Bellevue Hospital. She was listed in stable condition with minor injuries, fire officials said.
The cab driver, who didn't give his name, said the brakes on his cab failed as he drove southbound toward a traffic light just after 1 p.m.
To avoid crashing into traffic in the intersection, he made a hard right, he told DNAinfo. His cab grazed a parked car, jumped the curb and then crashed into the building.
The cabbie said he wasn't driving fast at the time of the accident. "It was just the brakes, they wouldn't hold," he said.
The crash left a streak of yellow paint on the building, but no other damage was visible.
