Tourist Who Lost Leg in Midtown Taxi Crash Leaves Hospital

Sian Green had been hospitalized since Aug. 20, when a taxi jumped the curb and hit her as she and her friend walked near Rockefeller Plaza

The 23-year-old British tourist whose leg was severed when a taxi jumped the curb and hit her near Rockefeller Center has been discharged from the hospital after more than a month, according to a public relations firm working with her attorney and family. 

Sian Green was released from the hospital Thursday, about three weeks after beginning rehabilitation for her injuries, and Alex Schnabel of Green Room Public Relations, says she is expected to return to England within the next few days and looks forward to getting back to a normal routine.

Green had just arrived in New York for vacation and was walking with her friend on Sixth Avenue at 49th Street Aug. 20 when a yellow cab hit her. She was pinned to the sidewalk in the collision, and her left leg was severed. A plumber used his belt as a tourniquet, but doctors were not able to save the limb.

Appearing on the "Today" show last week in her first public interview since the accident, Green said she vividly remembers her day leading up to the accident -- visiting Times Square, stopping for a drink and exploring the city for the first time with her best friend -- and the moment before she was hit.

"I couldn't move. If I had gone left, it would've hit me. If I'd gone right, it would've hit me," Green said.

Amy Buttaro, a registered nurse from Haddonfield, N.J., who was visiting Manhattan that day with her daughter, was one of the bystanders who rushed to her aid. Buttaro says she ran towards Green and held the makeshift tourniquet down. She then stayed with her until medics arrived. 

"They saved my life," Green said. "If it weren't for them, I wouldn't be here right now."

Schnabel says Green's family and friends, as well as the New York community, have been constant motivations for her as she continues her long road to recovery. Her best friend, Keisha Warren, who was by Green's side on the day of the accident, has been by her side in the hospital "every day for the past five weeks," he said. 

On the "Today" show last week, Green said her and Warren's vacation certainly didn't go as planned, but she believed she would -- at some point -- return to the Big Apple to finish her "holiday."

"We came here thinking we were coming on holiday, and it's been a whirlwind. It's turned upside down," Green said. "I've got to adjust to everything. I'm having to learn how to walk again."

"I'll probably have the courage to come back one day," she added. "It's a beautiful city. I'm not blaming the city; it's just a mistake that somebody made."

The cab driver accepted a 30-day license suspension after the wreck, but says the crash was not his fault. An angry bike messenger banged on his car, he told authorities, which startled him into hitting his gas pedal and running up on the curb.

The city said Tuesday that the driver who hit Green may have been flagged for violations prior to the crash if not for a computer glitch. She says it's crucial the city -- and any cities with dense vehicle traffic and pedestrian-packed sidewalks -- review safety procedures and develop improvements.

"Look what can happen if you don't take your time on the roads. If you're feeling a little bit flustered, take a minute, because it's people's lives that you're messing with," Green said. 

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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