Body in the Road on 10th Street | Dios Malos

(warning: potentially disturbing photos below the fold)

Saturday night started like any other Saturday night. I attended the Fiery Furnaces show at Webster Hall. Dios Malos opened. It was an early concert because Webster Hall wants the indie rockers out before the regulars arrive. Dios invited the crowd to join them at Kate’s Joint after the show. For those that don’t know, Kate’s Joint is one of the finest vegetarian establishments in NYC. I hadn’t had dinner, so I convinced everyone I was with to take Dios up on their offer.

We took a taxi from Webster (11th St & 3rd Ave) to Kate’s (4th St & Ave B). Heading east on 10th, “Hotel California” was playing on the radio (related: the Eagles just happened to be in town). The cab driver was cursing about all the traffic that day. We were making ourselves laugh. Suddenly there was a commotion in front of us. People ran into the street to tell us to stop driving forward. We looked ahead, and saw a body lying twisted in the road.

Deciding at that moment to live up the NYC cabbie stereotype, our driver tried to drive around the body. We screamed at him to stop. He wouldn’t. We demanded to get out right there. He stopped the meter. We paid. He drove around the body by himself.

10th Street goes two ways between A & B. There was a mini-van stopped a few feet behind the body. It had been traveling in the opposite direction than us. There was a lady behind the wheel. The little girl in the passenger seat was most likely her daughter. The windshield was smashed. A hat was dangling on the windshield wiper.

A few people were on the phone with the police. A man, who ran out of his apartment after hearing a loud bang, was telling us what happened. The 21 year old kid lying on the pavement motionless before us, COULD speak. He used his voice to tell us that he couldn’t feel his legs. I’m not a doctor, but I sighed relief when someone asked him to wiggle his feet, and he could. There was no blood, and he could talk – both good signs.

I had my camera with me. What to do? Obviously whipping out a camera in this situation would be the wrong thing to do. A fire truck was the first emergency vehicle on the scene. Five or six firefighters jumped out of the truck and started doing what they do. At that point, I knew the injured man was in good hands. I pulled out my camera. An ambulance and a cop showed up. The cop was the first person to talk to the panicking woman sitting behind the wheel of the damaged vehicle. I wonder if anyone asked her if she was ok the whole time.

Everything seemed under control. We left and walked the rest of the way to Kate’s. Dios wasn’t there when we got there, but did eventually show up. They hung at the bar. We had our own little party going on at a back table. Before we left, I said hello to the singer, and told him I enjoyed the show.