A 61-year-old woman visiting the city from Miami was struck and pinned by an MTA bus in an East Village crosswalk Monday night, and her daughter says she fears recent chemo treatment for her mother's cancer will complicate surgical efforts to repair the broken bones she suffered in the collision.
Aurora Beauchamp has cancer and recently had a hysterectomy, her daughter Natalie Rizzo says. Beauchamp was walking in the crosswalk near Houston Street and Avenue D around 9 p.m. when an MTA bus driven by 41-year-old Eduard Khanimov made a right turn and hit her, police said.
According to her daughter, Beauchamp was taken to a hospital with a broken hip, pelvis and ribs and a bruised bladder. She was expected to undergo surgery Wednesday. A hospital spokeswoman said she was in serious condition.
Khanimov was also taken to the hospital for evaluation. He was arrested on a charge of failing to yield to a pedestrian. It wasn't immediately clear if he had retained an attorney who could comment on the allegation.
However, John Samuelsen, the president of the transit worker's union, Local 100 President, said in a statement to News 4: "Our hearts go out to the victim of this tragic accident and her family. It's unfortunate that bus operators are forced to drive 75-foot vehicles with blind spots through intersections that give both pedestrians -- and turning motorists -- signals to enter the same crosswalk at the same time.
"It's a recipe for serious disasters like this, and bus operators should not be treated like common criminals when this flawed traffic system produces an accident," he said.
The MTA said Khanimov would be held out of passenger service pending the completion of the investigation, as is the case "in all bus pedestrian accidents."
