A traffic pole collapsed and injured four people Saturday morning near the Museum of Natural History on the Upper West Side, police said.
People were enjoying a sunny morning strolling by the museum when a pole that a maintenance crew was working on came crashing down around 10:47 a.m. at the heavily trafficked corner of Central Park West and W. 81st St.
A traffic pole at the northwest corner of W. 81st St. and Central Park West in Manhattan toppled on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025, injuring four people. (Theodore Parisienne / New York Daily News)
All four victims were transported by EMS to Mount Sinai Morningside hospital where they were treated for minor injuries.
It was unclear why the pole toppled.
A traffic pole at the northwest corner of W. 81st St. and Central Park West in Manhattan toppled on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025, injuring four people. (Theodore Parisienne / New York Daily News)
The accident was reminiscent of a horrifying incident at the Thanksgiving Day Parade nearly 30 years ago in 1997, when part of a light pole along the park-bordering boulevard was knocked off and critically injured a spectator.
Kathleen Caronna, who was 34 at the time, nearly died when a section of a streetlight weighing several hundred pounds fell and struck her head after it was hit by a six-story-high Cat in the Hat balloon. The blow put her in a coma for a month, after which she required extensive rehabilitation for her injuries.
Blood is pictured on the ground after a traffic pole at the northwest corner of W. 81st St. and Central Park West in Manhattan toppled on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025, injuring four people. (Theodore Parisienne / New York Daily News)
Caronna was watching the festivities with her husband and 7-month-old son at 72nd St. and Central Park West when Macy’s handlers lost control of the balloon in 40 mph winds. Her husband, Massimo, and son, Alessandro, were not injured.