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Man in Wheelchair Pinned by Large Truck in SoHo

By  Amanda Mikelberg and Aidan Gardiner | May 31, 2013 10:18am | Updated on May 31, 2013 1:12pm

 A wheelchair-bound pedestrian was hit by a truck near Spring Street and West Broadway Friday May 31, 2013.
Truck Pins Man In Wheelchair
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SOHO — A man in a wheelchair was hit and pinned by a dump truck in SoHo Friday morning, officials and witnesses said.

The pedestrian, whose identity was not immediately released, was struck and pinned underneath the truck at 9 a.m. on Spring Street, near West Broadway, an FDNY spokesman said.

The victim had been wheeling his way between cars when the truck struck him, said the truck's owner, Sam Battal, who spoke with his driver by phone after the incident.

The man was rushed to Bellevue Hospital, the fire spokesman said, but his condition was not immediately clear.

The 33-year-old truck driver remained on the scene after the crash and was not arrested, according to witnesses. He was being interviewed by police Friday afternoon and would be questioned again when he returned to Battal Trucking in New Jersey, Battal said.

An employee at a Sunglass Hut near the intersection said the victim appeared awake and conscious after the crash.

A saleswoman at a nearby optician said the aftermath rattled her.

"I saw the wheelchair knocked over," said Nicole, 20. "I saw the blood and looked away."

Battal said the driver, who has been with his company a year, was returning from a supply delivery at the time.

"He's rattled, but he's alright," Battal said.