SF shoe shiner's road to recovery after cab jumped curb into him in horrible accident

SAN FRANCISCO (KTVU) - It has been a long recovery for two shoeshine workers hit and seriously injured by a speeding cab in San Francisco in August. 

The driver told police he had a medical episode and blacked-out behind the wheel, jumping the curb on Market Street and careening into two men.

Sue Giammona, who rents the shoeshine stand, and also sells jewelry at Sansome and Sutter, says the spot hasn't been the same since.

"We had a lovely energy flow. It was just like home," Giammona told KTVU, "and it won't be the same corner at all, without Saleem here."

67-year-old Saleem Bey and his 40-year-old apprentice who goes by Jaz have been hospitalized most of the past three months, after the Yellow Cab barreled onto the sidewalk at about 60 mph, demolished their stand and threw them into the air.

"If I had hit the back of my head, I might not be talking to you today," Bey told KTVU, visiting the spot in a wheelchair.

"It happened so fast, it felt like a bomb, boom!" he recounted, "and next thing I know, I'm up in the air, and landed over there."

Both men have had multiple major surgeries, 

Jaz survived a coma, and steers clear of the corner now, but "Mr. Saleem", as his customers know him, visits when he can get a ride from the  rehabilitation hospital where he is recovering. 

"I want to come back as soon as possible so we can get this thing rolling again," he smiled.

Giammona had a new shoeshine booth built and installed last month.

"We're halfway there, but not all the way. Not until he comes back," she said encouragingly.

"Everyone asks about him, they want to know how he's doing, and when he's coming back," added Giammona.

"They know his spirit, they feel his spirit. They see him everyday. He was always happy, smiling, saying hello to everyone," she said fondly.

It's uncertain if Bey's injuries will allow him to work again.

But he says it's not only the people, and the craft he misses, but passing his skills to others.  

"When I met Jaz, he was homeless. I said 'you want to learn how to shine shoes?' He said yeah," Bey recalled.

"I trained at least fifteen people in the San Francisco area how to shine shoes. I don't mind sharing."
GoFundMe accounts were set up for both men after the accident, and are still active.

The 59-year-old Burlingame man who hit them apologized after he got out of the hospital.