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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location of the deadly crash on the Cross Bronx expresswayA car driver died in a fiery NYC crash that occurred in the Mount Even section of the Cross Bronx Expressway, underneath University Avenue, around 12:30 am on Monday night.

According to media, 49 year old Shelly Vilsaint from Bayonne, New Jersey, was driving her 2019 Range Rover west bound of the Cross Bronx Expressway in the middle lane when she rear-ended a tractor trailer contracted by the U.S. Postal Service.  Both drivers got out of their vehicles to talk.

The accident was a minor fender-bender for which usually the NYPD does not respond anymore but the woman insisted on waiting for the police. The driver of the truck suggested they pull over but she refused. Both got back in their vehicles and shortly after another tractor trailer rear-ended the Range Rover. The car was crushed between the two trucks and Shelly Vilsaint died at the scene of the accident.

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location of the fatal pedestrian accident in the RockawaysA 64 year old pedestrian was fatally struck by a car as he was crossing Seagirt Boulevard near Beach 31st Street in Far Rockaways, Queens, NYC, on Saturday  around 6:50 pm

Seagirt Boulevard is notoriously dangerous  and multiple crashes occurred on the 6-lane Boulevard in the past. Since 2019 one motorist died and 90 people were injured in crashes – including 19 pedestrians and 7 cyclists – on Seagirt Boulevard between Beach 9th Street and Rockaway Parkway. Speeding is so common that in 2019, one of the speed cameras installed on Seagirt Boulevard had the highest yearly amount of tickets recorded of all the speed cameras of New York City. Despite  this sad record it took the DOT until last September to announce that Seagirt Boulevard will finally be subjected to a road diet. (Read more about the accident in the NY Daily News)

Another pedestrian, father of 12 children, was killed by a hit and run driver in Manhattan on Sunday morning around 5:45 am

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The dangerous NYC intersection where a pedestrian was killedA pedestrian was killed in a car accident on a dangerous street of New York City.  The accident occurred on Monday afternoon around 3Pm. 73 year old Yingqui Liu was crossing South Avenue  when he was struck by the driver of a van making a left turn from Forest Avenue in Staten Island.

According to Transportation Alternatives, while 3 people died in crashes on Forest Avenue since 2019, no major safety improvements have been made on Forest Avenue west of Morningstar Road  since Vision Zero started.

So far this year 223 people died in crashes in New York City, including 99 pedestrians. Among the victims 42 of them were 65 and older.

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70 people died in traffic accidents in New York City during the third quarter of 2022. Among the victims were 26 pedestrians, 4 cyclists, 15 motor vehicle passengers and 25 motor vehicle operators. Pedestrians and motor vehicle operators accounted for most of the deaths while passengers fatalities reached a record high.

Since Vision Zero started in 2014, auto accident fatalities gradually declined from 82 during the third quarter of 2013 to a record low of 56 fatalities during the third quarter of 2019. However, everything changed during the Covid19 crisis of 2020 when NYC streets were almost empty and speeding caused traffic fatalities to peak again and reach 77 during the third quarter of 2020. Since then, the number of fatalities during Q3 never went back below 70.

Auto accident fatalities NYC Q3 2022

While fatalities remained higher than usual, car accident injuries stayed lower than usual

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KIa-challengeAn ongoing “Kia Challenge” instructing Tiktok followers on how to steal Kia or Hyundai cars with a USB charging cord and encouraging users to post videos of their joy rides caused the deaths of 4 teenagers in Buffalo, NY.

19 year old Marcus Webster, 17 year old Swazine Swindel, 16 year old Kevin Payne and 14 year old Ahjanae Harper were passengers in a stolen Kia driven by a 16 year old boy who lost control of the car and crashed it. The four of them  died in the crash. Harper had just gave given birth to a baby daughter. The driver and another 15 year old passenger survived the accident.

The young driver has been charged with criminal possession of stolen property and unauthorized used of a vehicle. He is due to appear in court in November.

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Mulberry and Canal where the bicycle accident occurredA cyclist suffered injury after a driver ran a red light and struck him on Canal Street. The cyclist had a camera mounted on his helmet and the entire accident was caught on camera showing not only the cyclist proceeding with caution but also the driver clearly running the red light.

The cyclist, a 37 year old IT technician was riding north on Mulberry Street. As he arrived at the intersection of Canal he stopped at the red light. As the light turned red for the cars on Canal Street the cyclist peaked to his left – the black Acura who later on hit him is still so far away that it seems obvious that the driver would stop at the light  – and waited for the green light on Mulberry to proceed. As he started to pedal through the intersection and 14 seconds after the light had turned red on Canal, the driver of the Acura just drove through the red light and crashed into him.  The cyclist screamed and fell on the pavement in agony. He lied in the street for more than a minute until the driver came out of his car and excused himself telling him he didn’t see him because the sun was in his eyes.

The driver was on the phone with 911 and EMTs showed up a few minutes later. The cyclist couldn’t move and mentioned pain in his back and leg.

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Vision Zero Cities 2022Transportation Alternatives “Vision Zero Cities” conference started yesterday and continues until Friday at the end of the day.  Participants can still register for selected segments.

The conference was held online yesterday with an in-person Vision Zero Cities 2022 Opening Reception hosted at Liberty Park at World Trade Center last night.

Today, sessions will be hosted in person at the Center for Architecture at 536 Laguardia Place in Manhattan.

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accident sceneReckless driving was a factor in multiple deadly crashes in New York City that occurred at the end of last week.

  • The first accident occurred Friday early morning, around 2:30 am when a 23 year old driver identified as Ravinder Singh who was drunk behind the wheel killed his 29 year old passenger Harjot Singh,  in a wrong way crash on the Brooklyn-Queens-Expressway. The driver is now facing several charges including criminally negligent homicide and drunk driving. (read more in the NY Daily News)
  • A few hours later. around 6:30 am  another deadly wrong way accident occurred, involving a car and an ambulance that was transporting a victim that was previously hit by another car (see previous blog). The victim, a mother of two young children, died and several EMS members were injured and hospitalized.
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ocation of the deadly crash in Staten IslandA woman died and 4 others suffered personal injury after a car crashed into an ambulance. The accident occurred last Friday morning around 6:30 am in Westerleigh, Staten Island, NYC.

The pedestrian was first  injured after being struck by a car as she was stepping out of her home

35 year old, Maria Martinez, a mother of two children had just stepped out of her home and was walking to the bus stop when she was struck by a car while crossing Jewett Avenue. The car was a Dodge charger and the driver remained at the location of the accident and was questioned by the police. So far he has not been charged. When the emergency team arrived with the ambulance at the location of the accident, they found the victim in critical condition. Paramedics quickly got her in the ambulance they were driving down Maine Avenue in the wrong way in an attempt to reach the hospital faster and save Maria’s life. Ambulances are authorized to do so when the life of someone is endangered.

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Granny road where the deadly crash occurredPolice are looking for a hit and run driver who struck two siblings, killing one and injuring the other in a car accident in Coram, NY. 

The crash occurred last Wednesday night around 7:30 pm on Granny Road near the intersection of Middle Island Road. Tyler Philips and Krystal Randolph, both 13 year old, were walking back home from the park. They were heading west in the bike lane when a motorist travelling in the same direction hit them. The car driver never stopped. The teenagers were walking in the bike lane because there were no sidewalks.

“Tyler is a hero” said his grieving mom