Karaoke clubgoers rescued a homeless man from the smoking wreck of a stolen car shortly before it burst into flames in Lower Manhattan Friday night, cops and witnesses told the Daily News.
Marble Rodrigeuz, 60, was smoking a cigarette outside a John St. karaoke joint when she spotted a speeding white Kia Forte EX with TLC plates lose control on Maiden Lane and slam into a pole near Nassau St. in the Financial District around 7:11 p.m., she told the Daily News.
Rodriguez and two other men rushed to the driver’s aid but were shocked after recognizing him as a homeless man who typically camps on the sidewalk outside a nearby drug store, she said.
“I looked at him and, oh my God, this is the guy who sleeps in front of the Duane Reade,” Rodriguez said.
The courageous crooners pulled the driver from the smoking car just moments before it erupted into flames.
“He was lying there with his eyes closed, bleeding from the mouth,” said Rodrigeuz. “I went into the car and turned it off. It was already smoking and then there were flames.”
Paramedics took the driver to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition, cops said.
Police responding to the crash linked the injured driver to another collision that occurred about two blocks away and mere minutes before, cops said.
The Kia driver smashed into a Yellow 2022 Rav 4 on Broadway near Maiden Lane around 7:07 p.m., arguing with the car’s 56-year driver before peeling off, according to police.
No arrests have been made yet.
