Blood soaks through the escalator mechanism after the horrific crash which sent two to hospital

A horrific crash today saw two people rushed to hospital with head wounds after a taxi driver reportedly lost control and smashed across a pavement onto escalators serving 3 Garden Road in Central.

The crash happened at 4:23pm outside Champion Tower, trapping at least one victim under the taxi as it smashed from the access road, across the plaza and onto a moving pair of escalators.

The 71-year-old taxi driver is led away by police for alcohol testing

A witness on the scene said at least one of the victims was flung over the escalator barrier onto the other escalator and that one victim had been trapped under the taxi. The witness said the taxi had “come out of nowhere”.

Police say victims Mr Li, 53, and Ms Lau, 34, were rescued and sent to Queen Mary Hospital for treatment.

Taxi driver Mr Zhou, 71, was breathalysed by police on the scene but police would not say if he had been arrested. A police officer on the scene said “crazy taxi” in response to questions on what had happened and how the taxi had mounted the pavement.

Emergency vehicle access was earlier hampered by the drivers of two black seven-seaters who kept their vehicles waiting in the “No Waiting” zone, with one refusing to move even with sirens blaring behind him.

Seven-seater vans illegally parked had hampered emergency vehicle access

Fire crews stood by in case of fuel leakage while emergency workers figured out how to shift the stuck taxi