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2 People Critically Hurt Driving Through Red and Into DOT Truck: Witnesses

By  Trevor Kapp and Aidan Gardiner | July 19, 2017 7:45am | Updated on July 19, 2017 8:26am

 A Honda lay badly damaged after getting hit by a DOT truck, not the one in the background, officials said.
A Honda lay badly damaged after getting hit by a DOT truck, not the one in the background, officials said.
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DNAinfo New York

KIPS BAY — Two people were critically hurt when a Department of Transportation truck hit a Honda Civic that ran a red light before both vehicles slammed into a passing taxi Wednesday morning, police and witnesses said.

The two injured people, who are in their 20s, were in the Honda heading north on Third Avenue blew through a red light and were hit by the DOT truck, which was going east on East 34th Street about 2:30 a.m., according to an NYPD spokesman and two witnesses.

"The car was coming up and had a red light. The truck had a green light and hit the car. The car was going really fast, like 70 mph, too fast. People were yelling. It was very loud, scary," said Md. Saruq Hollan, 37.

The crash was loud and sent both the DOT truck and the Honda hurtling into a nearby taxi, police said.

"Then the truck hit him really hard. It was like an explosion. It was really loud. Boom! A big noise. Everyone was running," said Pedro Hernandez, 51, who was near the crash at the time.

The people in the Civic, whose identities weren't immediately released, suffered life-threatening injuries and were being treated at Bellevue Hospital, where they're listed in stable condition, police said.

The drivers of the taxi and DOT truck were being treated at New York University Langone Medical Center, where they're listed as stable, police said.

There were no immediate arrests, police said.

It wasn't immediately clear why the DOT driver hit the Civic, but police said they're still investigating.

Transportation officials didn't immediately return a request for comment.