The owner of a fruit shop that barely escaped injuries when an out-of-control driver broke into his business in Midtown was back in operation in 24 hours.
Ugur Dikici, 44, worked until 4 a.m. Saturday to prepare his business for customers.
Dikici received help from some friends who gave him some metal stops and luckily they had extra merchandise on the truck.
“I can’t miss a day. I have family. I have two children: 13 and 16. My daughter is preparing for college. It is difficult“ He said. “And the business is not as it used to be. The last year (you know, the pandemic) is slow. I’m here seven days a week. “
“I worked until four in the morning,” he said. “I’m tired. But I’m used to it. I usually work 16 or 17 hours a day.
One of the survivors of the domino crash, George Soliman, 54, told The Post that he tried to get out of the way but was not fast enough.
The fruit stand with the contents and the scaffolding fell on him. He has pain in his knees, arms, back, it hurts to turn his head from side to side.
“I see the car coming,” Soliman recalled. “He was coming fast: crazy man, crazy man. It was hitting everything: boom, boom. I fell on the street. It falls on my face. Everything was falling apart for us. The fruits for all of me. The scaffolding fell on my back and knee, arms and fingers. Thank you, God! Thank you, God! I’m alive. I’m very lucky. “
Soliman’s colleague Sohaib Annabi, who works for Dikici, was also injured. The 27-year-old is scheduled to get married in a few months, but was forced to leave on Saturday.
“I am not sure when I will return to work. Today, when I woke up, my back hurts. When I walk, I don’t walk properly, ”said Annabi.
“When I saw the video and talked to my brother and good friend, I cried,” he said, adding, “I could have died. I wouldn’t be here talking to you. But thank God, I’m alive.”
The incident took place around 8:30 a.m., when a 66-year-old man, who later encountered a medical episode, crashed his Nissan van with a black Toyota Camry behind Second Avenue. , sending the car through the dining room near East 50th Street.
Two young boys, aged 5 and 7, were hit by flying debris from Crave Fishbar’s empty outdoor facility, police said.
The destruction continued for another block. The van crashed into the Dikici fruit stand and some scaffolding before stopping on East 49th Street, police and witnesses said. In all, seven people were injured.