By Nicole Breskin
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
UPPER EAST SIDE — A yellow cab carrying a mom and her two children smashed through an Upper East Side storefront after the driver swerved to avoid a skateboarder Saturday, witnesses said.
The car slammed into the vacant building at the intersection of 85th Street and Madison Avenue, showering the sidewalk with shards of glass.
Miraculously, the driver and his passengers walked out of the wreckage with only minor injuries. Police said they didn't know the ages of the children.
“They were really shaken up,” said Freddy Ortiz, a doorman at the apartment building next door who helped the taxi driver and passengers out of the car.
“The driver had some cuts and bruises, but everyone seemed physically to be OK.”
Witnesses said the skateboarder darted in front of the car as it crossed the intersection just before 10 a.m.
Police on the scene confirmed nobody was seriously hurt. The skateboarder was unscathed, according to witnesses.
“I’m glad everyone is fine, but it’s still unnerving,” said Upper East Side mom Adriana Lica, who passed the scene with her two young boys.
“We always use car seats and we will be more careful crossing the street.”
