Police Identify Upper East Sider Fatally Struck By Taxi

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — A man fatally struck by a taxi Saturday night was an Upper East Side resident, an NYPD spokesman confirmed with Patch.

Manikam Srymanean, 51, was walking just two blocks from his East 79th Street home when he was hit by a yellow cab in the intersection of East 78th Street and York Avenue, an NYPD spokesman told Patch. Srymanean was transported to New York Presbyterian hospital where he was pronounced dead around 9:30 p.m., police said.

The cab driver stayed on the scene of the collision and has not been charged with any crimes, police told Patch.

Srymanean worked as a manager at a deli on the corner of East 78th Street and York Avenue, CBS2 reported. An NYPD spokesman could not confirm details about Srymanean's occupation. A customer at the deli told a CBS2 reporter that Srymanean, who went by "Mano," was a generous man who would help feed the homeless.

The passenger inside the cab that struck Manikkam told CBS2 that the collision was "terrible."

"You could feel him going under the wheel of the car, which makes you feel more involved than you’d like to — even as a witness," the man, who only gave his first name of Thomas, told CBS2.

Since 2009, two people have been killed and six people have been injured at the intersection of East 78th Street and York Avenue, according to city Vision Zero data. The intersection has been tagged as a frequent location for speeding on the Vision Zero input map.

Photo by Patch