Auto Accidents

Published on: April 7, 2016

Driver charged with failure to yield to a pedestrian after killing a man while making a left turn in the 109th Precinct in Queens, NYC

Another pedestrian was killed in a car accident in NYC in the 109th precinct. According to Streetblog, this is the third pedestrian to die in this precinct since the beginning of the year. The accident happened Tuesday morning at the crossing of Prince Street and 35th Ave in Flushing, Queens. A 57 year old man who was crossing the street in the crosswalk was struck by a SUV driven by 55 year old Raymond Ortiz as he was making a left turn. Ortiz stayed at the scene of the accident and was charged with violation of the right of way law. The victim died at the hospital.

Earlier in the year, at the beginning of March, in the same precinct, 90 year old Dorothy Heiman was fatally struck by a car making a left turn. The driver wasn’t charged. In January a pedestrian was killed by a cement truck in the same precinct and the driver wasn’t charged either. In both cases police weren’t very cooperative in providing accurate information to determine if the pedestrian had the right of way.

Last year after several pedestrians were killed in the precinct, most of the time by negligent drivers, the police and the council members blamed the victims for their own deaths and lectured pedestrians on how to walk.

Published on: April 7, 2016

To decrease fatal car accidents, NYC lawmakers propose installing more speed cameras

By GGCRBHS&M

The installation of 140 speed cameras in NYC proved to be a successful way to reduce speeding in school zones and protect residents from fatal car accidents. Today State Sen. Jose Peralta and Assemblyman Michael DenDekker will propose to extend the installation of similar cameras to 2,000 school zones in New York City. The two democratic politicians from Queens are also proposing to have these cameras running 24 hours instead of only during school time as is the case now. Peralta and DenDekker also suggest that if a driver gets caught five times or more he or she should have his vehicle registration suspended.

The new bills introduced today by the two legislators are coming on the steps of a new Transportatrion Alternative campaign that requires the installation of speed camerat at #EverySchool

Read more in the NY Daily News

Published on: April 7, 2016

One pedestrian died and another suffered personal injury in two separate car accidents in New York City last night

By GGCRBHS&M

No pedestrian crossing at this intersection Picture: courtesy of Google map

A 45 year old man was fatally struck by a negligent driver who didn’t stop after he hit the victim. The car accident happened on 21st Street and 30th Road in Queens, NYC, yesterday around 11:00 pm. The man was transported to the hospital but he couldn’t be saved. The car that hit the pedestrian is believed to be a red Toyota. The police are looking for surveillance footage. The intersection is very dangerous because there is no pedestrian crossing even though it is located in a very busy area of Astoria. According to residents speeding is frequent.

Another accident happened a little bit later in the Bronx. A pedestrian suffered serious personal injury as he was trying to cross the Major Deegan Expressway near 138th in Port Morris shortly after 4:00 am. The victim was transported to the hospital while according to the NY Daily News a car was spotted at the scene of the accident with a smashed windshield and hood.

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Published on: April 4, 2016

New York Pedestrian killed by driver backing into parking space

By GGCRBHS&M

A pedestrian was fatally hit by a car in Manhattan on Friday. The pedestrian was a 76 year old woman who was trying to cross Madison Avenue near 95th street. The car driver was heading north on Madison Avenue when he noticed a parking spot. As he attempted to back his car into it, he struck the pedestrian identified as Mary Jo Myselow. The woman suffered head injury but was conscious when she was found by a police officer lying on the ground. The driver stayed at the scene of the accident. Mary Jo Myselow died from her injuries at the hospital. Read more in the Gothamist

Two days earlier five pedestrians were injured in the Bronx after a driver lost control of his vehicle. The 26 year old driver had a suspended licensed when he jumped the curb at E. Fordham Road and Thiebout Ave in Fordham Heights. He was taken into custody by the police. Read more in the NY Daily News

Published on: April 4, 2016

The New York City DOT just released maps showing how speed limits have changed since de Blasio lowered the NYC default speed limit to 25 mph in an effort to reduce the number of fatal car accidents

By GGCRBHS&M

Decreasing the speed to reduce the number of car accidents resulting in death or serious injury in New York City is one of the top priorities of the Zero Vision Initiative launched by Mayor de Blasio in 2014. Since November 7, 2014, the NYC’s default speed limit has been lowered from 30 mph to 25 mph and since that date the NYC Department of transportation has been implementing it. The DOT re-evaluated for each borough which streets should have their speed limit lowered to 25mph and which ones should be allowed to keep a 30 mph speed limit. The DOT posted over 4,700 new 25 mph signs and removed 2,400 30 mph signs. There are still 700 more to be removed. At this point over 5,000 miles of NYC streets have a 25 mph or lower speed limit and over 800 miles of the streets have signs that explicitly indicate that the speed limit is 25 mph. The DOT also added speed limits in the Vision Zero Map of traffic crashes. Read more in Streetblog

Published on: April 2, 2016

A compilation of studies show digital billboards along roadways constitute a distraction that increase the risk of traffic accidents

By GGCRBHS&M

As billboards are getting more and more sophisticated, the risk of car accidents caused by drivers distracted by these billboards is increasing. Jerry Wachtel, a traffic safety consultant just released a compendium of 22 recent studies related to potential consequences for driver distraction from Commercial Electronic Variable Message Signs (CEVMS) along the roadside. The author released a previous study in 2009 warning about the dangers of such billboards. More recent studies are showing that as billboard became more sophisticated, drivers also became more distracted increasing the risk of accidents. Below is a summary of the most relevant findings:

While experienced drivers are more cautious than young drivers in keeping their eyes away from distractions that are inside the car (i.e. phone dialing or map searching) they are not as cautious when it comes to external distractions such as electronic billboards. Both younger and older drivers have a tendency to often glance for more than 2 seconds at external distractions such as electronic billboards instead of focusing on the road in front of them. When a driver takes his or her eyes off the road for two seconds or more the risk of an accident is high.
Drivers pay less attention to relevant road signs but focus more on electronic billboards when both types of signs are on the same road

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Published on: March 29, 2016

A driver was injured after he crashed into a house and in a separate accident another one died after crashing into a storefront

By GGCRBHS&M

A man was injured in a car accident in NYC this morning after he lost control of his vehicle and slammed into a private house. 23 year old Shirley Lucas and her 2 year old daughter were inside their house located on Bruckner Boulevard near Thierot Avenue in Soundview, Bronx when the accident happened. The car first crashed through a metallic gate located at the entrance of the property and then hit the brick wall of the house. According to the NY Daily News The mother and the daughter weren’t injured but had to stay out of the house while Con Edison and the DOB were analyzing the damages.

Another man crashed in a Bronx building on Saturday night. He died in the accident. According to witnesses the 37 year old man was speeding east on Allerton Ave in the Bronx when he lost control of his vehicle. He first hit two parked cars and then a light pole before crashing into a dry cleaner store located at the corner of Barnes Ave. The driver was transported to the hospital but he didn’t survive. Read more in the NY Daily News

Below is a Google Map Street view of the location of the Saturday night accident.

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Published on: March 23, 2016

Despite Zero Vision efforts the number of traffic injuries and deaths in February in NYC are going up again

By GGCRBHS&M

3,665 people were injured and 18 people died in traffic accidents in New York City last month. This is the highest number of crash injuries and the second highest number of crash deaths recorded in the month of February over the last 4 years. Compared to February of last year the monthly number of people injured in a motor vehicle accident in NYC increased by 23% and the monthly number of people killed by 20%. Even though there are usually less traffic accidents in February than in any other months in New York City the increase of deaths an injuries recorded during the last month is of concern.

Published on: March 21, 2016

A hit and run taxi driver who killed a pedestrian in New York said he thought he hit a pothole

By GGCRBHS&M

A taxi driver fatally ran over a woman who was lying on a New York City street and didn’t stop. At his arraignment he said he thought he hit a pothole, not a human being.

Saturday morning around 3:30 am, 68 year old John Bangura was driving his yellow cab on First Ave near 17th Street in Stuyvesant Town, Manhattan. For some unexplained reason, 44 year old Kenya Flores was laying on the ground when the taxi ran over her and dragged her briefly on First Ave. Before laying in the path of the taxi, Flores had laid down in a bus path.

According to the NY Daily News, witnesses saw the taxi trying to drive around a car who had stopped in front of him when he hit the woman. He dragged her down the street and sped away. Flores was taken to the hospital where she later died.

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Published on: March 21, 2016

New York police officer let go hit and run driver who injured a pedestrian after he flashes a badge

By GGCRBHS&M

A pedestrian suffered serious injury after being hit by a car in New York City but according to a witness, the driver was let go by the police after he flashed a badge.

On January 11th, 63 year old Cindy Klump who managed the drawing Center at Pratt Institute, was trying to cross Myrtle Ave at Ryerson Street in Brooklyn, NYC. As she was crossing, she tripped and fell on the ground. She was getting back when up she was hit in the back by a a light colored minivan. John Cisneros, a Pratt student who witnessed the accident saw the van driver parking his vehicle 50 feet away and run to rescue the woman. Another woman who also witnessed the accident ran to the rescue. She had medical training and tended to Klump while Cisneros called 911.

The ambulance and the police showed up shortly after. One of the police officers, Officer Orlando Vargas, started to interview the woman who helped Klump. She pointed at the driver who was still around and pointed at his car and told the officer: “that’s the guy who hit her and that’s his car”. The driver denied it and said it was a car before him who struck the woman and ran away. Cisneros said he saw the driver flashing a badge to Officer Vargas. He then kept the badge on a chain around his neck and was let go by Officer Vargas.

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