Three hurt in Chelsea collapse after box truck driver crashes into scaffolding

Three pedestrians were hurt when scaffolding outside a Chelsea office building collapsed after it was struck by a box truck driver, police said.
A homeless man encamped under a sidewalk shed in Chelsea was hurt along with two passersby when a truck backed into the scaffolding and it collapsed Monday morning, police and witnesses said.
Shocking video obtained by the Daily News captures the moment when metal pipes and wooden boards rained down along the busy street during the heart of rush hour. Local workers and pedestrians rushed over to help.
The truck driver slammed into scaffolding shed on W. 29th St. near Eighth Ave. about 8:15 a.m., causing a 40-foot section of the sidewalk shed to collapse, FDNY Deputy Chief Michael Barvels said at the scene.
The victims were rushed to Bellevue Hospital, where one of them was in critical condition, authorities said. The other two victims are in stable condition.
A pool of blood was visible under the collapsed scaffolding.
Isni Nezaje, a superintendent  of a nearby building, said a homeless man encamped by the scaffolding could not get out in time.
“I was outside here drinking coffee with a couple contractors working on a building and then I heard a crack,” Nezaje said. “It was quick and then all the scaffolding started falling. The back of the truck collided with the scaffolding. There was a homeless guy sitting right to the post there and when the truck hit he tried to run but he got caught.”
Nezaje said he tried to help until first responders arrived.
“I was looking to see who is there and when I pulled the wood I saw the guy struggling to get out and got half my body in and I was afraid it might collapse again,” he said. “I was saying, ‘Come this way, come this way.’  He was disoriented and groggy. I tried to grab him and there was blood all over.”
About 12 units and 60 FDNY and EMS responders worked at the site, said Barvels.
“Units removed standing portions of the sidewalk shed that were in precarious positions so that we could leave the area safe for the follow up investigation,” said Barvels.
It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the driver to crash.
A worker at a nearby hotel said she helped pull a victim from the rubble. She said one of the victims had a cut to the head and another got hit by a pipe on the shoulder.
“The box truck was pulling out and hit into the scaffolding. He moved and then he stopped,” she said.
“On the other side of the box truck was a gentleman that was under the rubble so we had to pull him out. I was there trying to get him out but we didn’t know if anything else was going to fall.”
“It was scary,” she added.
“There was an elderly lady who was in a wheelchair that just passed minutes ago and luckily she was not hurt … I never experienced something like this. I heard about it happening in the city but not first-hand experiencing it.”