An SUV carrying seven people flew off the elevated roadway early Saturday morning and crashed onto a taxicab.
Eyewitnesses say they could hear the screams of the SUV passengers even before the impact.
Two people were critically hurt. One walked away.
"The two passengers in the front seat were screaming help, help," Eyewitness Gwendolyn London-Jones said.
Frantic screams coming from a mangled mess with seven passengers trapped inside.
Their 2001 Land Rover was headed southbound on the FDR Drive at 3 a.m. Saturday before losing control, veering over the guardrail and landing on top of a taxi stopped at 23rd Street.
"I was shocked saying, 'Oh my god'. I dialed 911 trying to explain what happened. I was shooken up," London-Jones said.
Witnesses say it played out like a movie until they heard the terrifying pleas for help.
Brian Duncan was nearby when it happened and rushed over to the SUV.
He says he tried to talk to the driver who was barely conscious and then helped two women who were nearly crushed.
"First I extradited the front passenger. She was in a seatbelt saying, 'If you get me out of here I'll be able to get out,' but she couldn't," Duncan said.
Police say the 38-year-old driver of the SUV passed a breathalyzer test.
There were no passengers in the cab, just the 23-year-old driver.
All of the victims were taken to Bellevue Hospital.
Amazingly, all are expected to survive.
Investigators are still trying to piece this together, trying to figure out if the SUV was speeding.
