Aussie mum breaks her silence after her son suffered ‘horrific’ injuries when New York City taxi hit them on Christmas Day as they were heading out to dinner

A Perth mother has recalled the moment she and her son were almost crushed by a taxi in a “horrific” accident in the heart of New York City on Christmas Day.

Rebecca Stewart, 41, and her son Tyler, nine, were on their way out to dinner when they were trapped under a taxi outside Macy’s department store in Midtown Manhattan around 4pm local time on Wednesday.

The taxi driver lost control of the vehicle during a suspected medical episode, causing the vehicle to climb the curb and hit the pair and five others.

Bystanders rushed in to help push the taxi away from them after Mrs Stewart’s husband shouted for help.

Mrs. Stewart suffered head and leg injuries while her son suffered a serious laceration to his right thigh and both were rushed to Weill Cornell Medical Center.

Police confirmed the remaining injured were the 58-year-old driver and three women aged 19, 37 and 49, all of whom suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

Witnesses say the boy’s leg was pinned under the taxi’s still-turning steering wheel and Ms Stewart said her head would have been crushed if the taxi had not stopped after crashing into a light post.

Bystanders rushed to free the pair by manually pushing the taxi away from them after Mrs Stewart’s husband began screaming for help

Mrs Stewart said she could only hold her son’s hand as passers-by tried to push the taxi away from them.

“I just felt a huge impact behind me and the next thing I knew I was face down on the pavement,” Ms Stewart told 7News.

‘I was holding my son’s hand, I could just hear him screaming.

‘I heard my husband shouting and asking everyone to take the car away from us. It was quite horrific.”

Mrs Stewart has since been released from hospital, but Tyler continues to receive treatment for his serious leg injuries.

Tyler suffered severe burns and an injury when the tire on his leg continued to rotate.

A degloving injury is a traumatic injury that occurs when skin and tissue are torn away from underlying bone, muscle, or connective tissue.

Surgical staff have already operated on Tyler twice and he is expected to need more surgeries, including a skin graft.

Mrs Stewart suffered head and leg injuries and Tyler suffered serious injuries to his leg where the taxi’s steering wheel had landed.

Video of the incident, filmed by others in the area, captured about a dozen good Samaritans switching gears in the pair’s car after turning off the engine.

Ryan Tucker, 45, whose wife was hit by the taxi, told local newspaper amNewYork that the taxi’s wheels were still turning when it came to a stop.

“Then we ripped the fender off, pushed the car back and there was a little boy,” Mr. Tucker said.

‘I grabbed him and sat in the corner. Finally, his dad came running over, and then I kind of sat with him and talked to him for three or four minutes just to make sure he was okay.”

A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said Daily Mail Australia officials were providing assistance to the mother and her son.

“The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is providing consular assistance to two Australians in the United States of America,” the spokesperson said.

‘Due to our privacy obligations, we are unable to comment further.’

Photos from the scene showed significant damage to the front of the cabin.

An NYPD spokesperson would not comment on the type of medical episode the 58-year-old taxi driver may have experienced, but said no foul play was involved.

The man was taken to hospital in a stable condition for further examination.

An investigation into the incident is ongoing.