Concrete Rains Over Grand Central When Truck Hits Railing
A truck was making a turn at Park Avenue and 41 Street when it hit a retaining wall, causing it to partially collapse
NBC New York
A tractor-trailer slammed into an overpass wall, sending concrete down onto the street below. Crews were forced to put up barriers in front of Grand Central Terminal. Pei-Sze Cheng reports.
A damaged railing fell to the ground from above Grand Central Terminal Tuesday after it was struck by a tractor trailer, but passersby managed to run out of the way in time and no one was hurt.
The truck was attempting to make a turn on the overpass above Grand Central at Park Avenue and 41st Street but it hit the railing instead. The crash caused concrete chunks and debris to fall.
A worker at a Kenneth Cole store just below the viaduct said the store's awning briefly caught the falling chunks of concrete, allowing just enough time for the pedestrians walking underneath the awning at the time to scatter.
"It's a miracle that there were not five or six people seriously hurt or killed," said the worker, who did not wanted to be identified.
Trucks are not permitted on the Pershing Square viaduct around Grand Central, officials said. Signs posted from the streetlight pole at the base of the viaduct read, "Passenger cars only" and "Weight limit: 15 tons."
The truck driver, who is from Delaware, said he wasn't aware of the vehicle regulations.
"I was trying to get around, and the little sign up there, with all taxis and cabs and everything else around here, I'm more worried about hitting somebody than looking up and seeing a little sign," said the driver, Joe Herbert.
"I didn't know anything had fell," said Herbert. "That's when I got out and looked. I just thank God nobody got hurt."
Forty-first Street between Lexington and Park avenues was temporarily closed, causing heavy delays.
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