Gair, Gair, Conason, Rubinowitz, Bloom, Hershenhorn, Steigman & Mackauf is a New York Plaintiff's personal injury law firm specializing in automobile accidents, construction accidents, medical malpractice, products liability, police misconduct and all types of New York personal injury litigation.

Articles Posted in Auto Accidents

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accident sceneA  NYC pedestrian was fatally struck by a dump truck. A bicyclist died after being clipped by a box truck. A pedestrian lost his life after being hit by a car. All 3 accidents occurred in Brooklyn Monday afternoon.

85 year old Rafael Nieves was walking back home from a trip to the supermarket around 1pm in Williamsburg. As he was crossing Grand Street near Lorimer a dump truck ran over him. The driver didn’t even stop. The police located him later on. According to their investigation the truck driver didn’t know he hit someone. Nieves, a Puerto Rican military veteran leaves behind him two children and five grand children.

A few hours later, around 4:45 pm, a 70 year old bicyclist died after being hit by a delivery truck. Iosif Plazinsky was riding his bike on Avenue X near Coney Island Ave. The bicyclist was hit twice by the truck. After the first collision he lost balance and fell. Then the truck veered to the right and struck him again. Plazinsky was rushed to the hospital but he couldn’t be saved. The truck driver stayed at the scene of the accident. Plazinsky was a retired construction worker from Odessa. He lived in Brighton Beach with his family. He had 3 grand children and one about to be born.

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nypd-chaseAn elderly woman was injured in  a car accident in New York City on Tuesday. The accident was caused by two police officers who were chasing a robbery suspect. The police officers received a radio order to stop the pursuit but ignored it. They continued to chase the suspect on Graham Ave, a busy Williamsburg street in Brooklyn. During the pursuit, the suspect lost control of his vehicle on Myrtle Ave. He hit two police cars and jumped the curb. He struck a 71 year old woman on the sidewalk. The woman and two other police officers were injured and transported to the hospital. According to witnesses talking  to the NY Daily News, it’s a miracle that no other pedestrians were hurt.

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After a young bicyclist was struck by a car in New York City, the Court of Appeals held the city of New York liable for failing to install traffic calming measures in a street the city knew was dangerous. The Court of Appeals decision  is related to a crash between a bicyclist and a car that occurred back in 2004  on Gerritsen Avenue in Brooklyn, NYC.

On December 5 2004 around 6:30 pm, 12 year old Anthony Turturro was riding his bike on Gerritsen Avenue. At the time of the accident, Gerritsen Ave was a four lane avenue with two lanes of traffic going in each direction.  As he was attempting to cross the avenue at mid-block, the young boy was struck by a car. The driver, Louis Pascarella, was speeding. The police investigation established that when the crash occurred, the driver’s speed was 54 mph, 24 mph over the 30 mph speed limit at this location. Turturro suffered serious injury. The driver pleaded guilty  to assault in the second degree.

RECKLESS DRIVING AND SPEEDING

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accident scene3 men were struck by a minivan as they were changing a flat tire on a highway. One of them died and the two others suffered serious injury. They were expected to survive. The car accident occurred around 2:00 am this morning on a segment of the New England Thruway in the Bronx, NYC.  After one of their tires broke, 3 men in a car pulled over on a narrow shoulder of the highway. As they were changing the tire, a 52 year old man driving a minivan struck all 3 men. The driver remained at the scene of the accident. He wasn’t charged. Read more in AMNY

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84th street and York IntersectionTwo pedestrians were injured in car accidents at two dangerous intersections of the Upper East Side of Manhattan this week-end. Both accidents occurred after sunset. The first one took place at the intersection of 84th Street and York (see Google Map picture on the left) Saturday at 5:45 pm. A 76 year old lady who crossed the street against the light was struck by a car. She suffered broken bones in her face, leg and pelvis.  She was transported to the hospital in critical condition. The driver stayed at the scene of the accident and wasn’t charged. Since 2009, 7 pedestrians were injured in car accidents at this intersection.

The second accident took place at an even more dangerous intersection. 28 pedestrians were injured since 2009 at the intersection of East 86th Street and Third Ave. Another victim was hit by a car at this location on Sunday at 8:30 pm.

To prevent such accidents the city launched the Dusk and Darkness campaign to tell pedestrians and drivers about the higher risk of pedestrian accidents during the winter darkness. As part of this campaign The NYPD also increases enforcement against drivers speeding, failing to yield or being distracted while driving between 4:00 pm and 9:00 am.

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accident sceneA 49 year old man was fatally struck by a car yesterday in New York City. The man was trying to cross the Van Wyck Expressway near Jewel Ave in Queens. The man climbed the median and was about to cross the Northbound lane of the Highway when he was hit by a car. The victim died at the scene of the accident. The driver who stopped after the accident wasn’t charged.  The accident occurred during rush hour yesterday afternoon. Both lanes were shutdown creating a major traffic jam up to JFK airport.  (see video on PIX11)

Earlier during the week, on Monday, 7 pedestrians were injured by a reckless car driver who was fleeing the police in Brooklyn. 20 year old Diego Williams was chased by the police after fleeing a traffic stop. During the chase Williams crashed into a police car and 5 other vehicles. 7 pedestrians were also injured. One suffered severe injury and six minor injury. Williams tried to escape by foot but was captured by the police. (read more in the NY Daily News)

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161 Avenue in Howard Beach Queens, NYC is a quite residential street
3 people were injured in a car accident in New York City on Friday. A 47 year old woman who tried to avoid a collision with another car crashed her SUV into the wall of a Howard Beach House in Queens. A little girl was in the car with her. Both suffered minor personal injury and were treated at the scene of the accident.

A man living in the house was seriously injured by the impact and the debris and was transported to the hospital. He suffered head and shoulder injuries.  The SUV crashed into the wall of the house and went inside it. A big portion of the garage and basement of the house were completely destroyed during the accident.

Read more and see video on ABC News 

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location of the accident 6th Ave and 47th StreetA woman riding her bike was hit by a van in Midtown Manhattan. The 56 year old woman was riding a Citi Bike near the intersection of W. 47th street and 6th Ave around 9:30 am yesterday morning. The van driver hit her and continued his way dragging the mangled bike under his vehicle. Two counter-terrorist cops saw it and immediately ran to the rescue.  While one of the cops was chasing down the van, the other one took care of the victim.  The woman suffered a very bad injury to her legs. According to witnesses, bones were visible in the knee area. The driver stayed at the scene of the accident. It is not clear why he didn’t stop immediately after hitting the woman. So far he hasn’t been charged.

Read more in the NY Daily News 

Picture: the busy location of the accident, courtesy of Google Maps

 

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accident sceneMore Pedestrians and Bicyclists have been killed in car accidents in NYC at this point in 2016 than in 2015. Through November 20th 124 pedestrians have been killed. 17 bicyclists have also suffered fatal injuries. For the same time period in 2015 115 pedestrians were involved in fatal accidents and 14 bicyclists were killed. Interestingly the death rate for those in cars and on motorcycles decreased this year to 61. At this point last year the number of such deaths was 73. Brian Zumhagen of Transportation Alternatives commented that these statistics indicate that the Vision Zero project is not sufficiently protecting those who are most at risk and that the City needs to fix those areas which have already been classified as hazardous Vision Zero priority locations.   The stated mission of Transportation Alternatives is to promote bicycling, walking and public transit in NYC. Read more in The New York Daily News.

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On November 17, 2016, Orlando Savino was hit by a four door sedan while walking across Neried Avenue at its intersection with Richardson Avenue in the Bronx, NYC. The car accident occurred at approximately 10:30 a.m. The pedestrian was found unresponsive by the police. He was pronounced dead at Jacobi Medical Center. Video at the scene depict the driver of a black Ford Fusion driving south on Richardson and turning left onto Neried where he hit Mr. Savino. He then fled the scene. Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at (800) 577-TIPS (8477) or (888) 57-PISTA (74782) for Spanish. Tips can also be submitted on the Crime Stoppers website at www.nypdcrimestoppers.com or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577. Read more in Bronx Times.