VIDEO: Shoe shine man hit by taxi in San Francisco speaks out from hospital bed
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- A cab jumped the curb on Market at Sutter streets in San Francisco and hit a shoe shine stand and the two men who were there working.
One survivor spoke first to ABC7 News Thursday afternoon.
PHOTOS: Taxi crashes into pedestrians in SF Financial District
Saleem Bey is in fair condition. His assistant Jaz in critical condition. Bey will have surgery on a broken hip Friday. He says it could have been a lot worse. Bey is hooked up to hospital monitors, his broken hip in traction, but his spirit unwavering.
"It's a blessing that it wasn't worse and I thank my God for that," he said.
RELATED: Taxi plows into shoeshine stand in SF injuring 3
Bey says he's been shining shoes since he was 12 and in San Francisco near the Montgomery Bart Station, since the early 2000s.
He says Tuesday afternoon a cab driver jumped the curb where he and his assistant Jaz were waiting for their next customer.
"Well I was sitting down talking to Jaz, you know kicking it just talking about how we could improve the business and I heard this noise. Next thing I know, they said they said I was up in the air then I was on the ground," Bey said.
RELATED: Taxi driver in crash may have had medical issue
San Francisco police are investigating the possibility the driver suffered a medical issue. Bey says the cab was speeding down Market Street.
"He had to be doing at least 60 or 70 miles an hour," Bey said.
Bey's cellphone screen was smashed in the impact.
"I'm glad it didn't mess my hands up," he said.
He says his main concern now is for his friend and assistant Jaz. A homeless man, he says in just six months, became one of the best workers he's ever had.
"He's like a son to me. I'm 66 he's 40-something," Bey Said.
Jaz is in critical condition. The cab driver has been released from the hospital.
A GoFundMe has been launched to raise money for the cab crash victim, Saleem Bey. Click here if you'd like to help.
