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.
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.
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.
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.
