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 Bicycle Accidents

Published on:

By

schenkman-michaelA bicyclist was fatally struck by a car in NYC. Yesterday morning, 78 year old Michael Schenkman was riding his bike on Northern Boulevard in Bayside, Queens when he was struck by a car. Michael Schenkman was an avid biker and a member of Transportation Alternatives. He was riding his bike every morning for 20 miles. The accident occurred on Northern Boulevard near 223rd Street around 6:30 am. The 25 year old driver of the car stayed at the scene of the accident and so far hasn’t been charged. A picture in the NY Daily News shows that the impact was so strong that the windshield was completely destroyed. In an article in Street Blog, Brad Aaron  suspects that the driver was speeding.

Michael Schenkman is the 16th victim who died in a bicycle accident in New York City this year. The number of bicyclists fatalities is on the rise in the city. Last year during the entire year 14 people died in bicycle accidents.

After yesterday’s accident, Transportation Alternatives released a statement asking the mayor to implement the Vision Zero Initiative to make the streets of New York City safer faster.

Continue reading →
Published on:

By

A NYC bicyclist struck by a car driven by a murderer says he is lucky to be alive. David Hunter, a Brooklyn Fashion designer, was injured in a scary bicycle accident a few blocs away from his house last Saturday afternoon. He was waiting at a light to cross Pitkin Avenue in Ozone Park. A man in a car was also waiting at the intersection and Hunter looked at him a brief second crossng the street in front of him.  As he was crossing the man in the car turned around and started to follow him. He looked very angry and kept saying “f—er, f—er, motherf—er”. He started to speed and intentionally struck the bicyclist who couldn’t pedal fast enough to escape. The bicyclist was thrown on a parked car. Thankfully he was wearing a helmet as his head hit the bumper of the car. Hunter lost consciousness as the crazed car driver continued to yell and curse by the window before taking off. Later on as witnesses took the plate number of the crazy driver, police discovered that the he was a cold blooded assassin. Oscar Morel, the driver, was indeed the man accused of killing Imam Maulana Alauddin Akonjee, 55, and his assistant Thara Uddin, 64. He was fleeing the murder scene when he struck David Hunter.

Read more in DNA Info

Published on:

By

57 pedestrians, 21 bicyclists and 289 motor vehicle occupants were injured in a car accident between 2010 and 2014 at the intersection of Atlantic Ave and Flatbush Ave in Brooklyn, New York City. 5 people also died in crashes at this same location between 2008 and 2016. This busy intersection is one of the most dangerous in New York City and the Department of Transportation wants to make it safer. Last week the DOT presented  a study of the actual traffic conditions at this intersection and proposals to make it safer. As of now, pedestrian crossings are extremely long, the traffic is heavy and often conflicting with pedestrians while turning. Bike lanes do no connect, taxi and buses block the traffic while dropping passengers and the sidewalk design is not appropriate. The intersection is very dangerous. The DOT proposes not only to redesign the intersection of of Flatbush Ave and Atlantic Ave but also the Flatbush Ave intersections near Hanson Place and Ashland place. Among the changes, the plan includes the addition of pedestrian islands and curb extensions to reduce the crossing distances as well some blocks being converted to pedestrian areas and new signalization. The complete study can be downloaded here

Dangerous Intersection NYC

Picture courtesy of Google Map

Published on:

By

left turn crashes study DOT NYCIn New York City, left turn accidents account for 19% of the crashes that kill or severely injure (KSI) pedestrians and bicyclists compared to 6% for right turns.

At most New York intersections drivers are permitted to tun left while pedestrians are in the crosswalk. While pedestrians have a false sense of security because they are in a crosswalk, left turn drivers often concentrate  on on coming traffic while turning and fail to look for pedestrians. Additionally because they can be taken at a wider angle, motorists tend to take left turns at a higher speed than right turns.

From 2010 to 2014, 108 pedestrians and bicyclists were killed by drivers turning left in New York City, that’s more than 20 people every year and almost two people every month.

Continue reading →
Published on:

By

car obstructing bike laneBicyclists riding in New York City have an increased risk of being injured or dying in a bike accident when a car or a truck is blocking their bike lane. The cyclists have to merge into traffic to pass the vehicle blocking the bike lane therefore  increasing their risk of being struck by another vehicle.  People who are commuting by bike in New York City are facing this problem on a daily basis. Bicyclist advocates have been voicing their complaints about this dangerous matter on regular basis and the NYPD listened to them.  This spring the “Bicycle Safe Passage” enforcement initiative was launched. The idea of the initiative is that over several periods of one week during the year the NYPD would focus on ticketing all vehicles blocking the bike lanes or not yielding to bicyclists. This week marks the third week of the operation for this year. During the previous operation last month, the police ticketed 1,757 motorists blocking the bike lane and 810 who didn’t yield to bicyclists. However according to Streetblog, police were also ticketing bicyclists rather than focusing their effort on protecting them.

Published on:

By

22nd Street and 6th Av, GreewoodA man was critically injured in a bike accident in New York City last night.  The accident occurred at the intersection of Sixth Ave and 22nd Street in Greenwood Brooklyn, NYC (see Google map picture on the left) . According to the driver of the car who was interviewed by the NY Daily News, the bicyclist was coming very fast and blew the stop sign before hitting the driver’s side rear section of the car. The bicyclist suffered head trauma and was transported to the hospital. The driver stayed at the scene of the accident.

More and more bicyclists are injured or die in bicycle accidents in New York City. According to recent statistics published in Vision Zero View, 12 people died and 1,896 were injured in bicycle accidents during the first six months of 2016 compared to respectively 5 and 1,648 during the same period of 2015.  Therefore the number of NYC fatal bicycle accidents during the first six months of the year increased by 140% and the number of NYC bicycle accident injuries went up 14% compared to the first sixth months of 2015.

Published on:

By

bicycle accident locationA bicyclist died after being hit by a suspected drunk driver in NYC. 17 year old Sean Ryan was riding his bike at Gerritsen and Gotham Aves., near Marine Park in Gerritsen Beach when he was hit by a car driving South on Gerritsen. 3 other people were injured in the accident including one severely according to the NY Daily News. The 24 year old driver, Thomas Groarke was arrested. He was suspected of drunk driving and may be charged with manslaughter.

Picture of the accident location: courtesy of Google Map

Published on:

By

car in bike laneA few weeks after a bicyclist died after being intentionally hit by a car in Brooklyn, NYC, another enraged car driver chased a bicyclist in a Brooklyn protected bike lane and tried to  intentionally run over him. The incident happened last Thursday night on Kent Ave. Two friends where riding on the bike lane when they passed a car that was parked on the bike lane forcing bicyclists to get in the traffic to get around it. The driver of the car was behind the wheel and one of the bike riders told him to “get the fuck off the bike lane”. The hot blooded driver got upset and started to chase the bicyclists. He threw a bottle of water at them. As the car was chasing them on Kent Ave, the two bicyclists made a turn onto a two ways protected bike lane on Flushing. The enraged driver recklessly drove right into the protected bike lane using both lanes and seriously endangering any potential bike riders. Bike riders took pictures of the incidents and were able to get the car plates number and identified the driver. They went to the police hopping they would do something about it but the cops politely told them off… Read more in the Gothamist

Picture from Anna Maria on Instagram

 

Published on:

By

A pedestrian died, a bicyclist was  critically injured and two drivers suffered personal injury in a car accident in New York City. The accident  occurred last Thursday in Queens.  56 year old Irene Lee was driving her Porsche on Horace Harding Expressway service road near the Intersection of Junction Boulevard. She lost control of her car and jumped the curb, hitting a pedestrian and a bicyclist.  She then fled the scene of the accident and hit two other cars waiting at a nearby red light. She then fled away one more time and drove North on Junction. She later had second thoughts and returned to the scene of the accident. The pedestrian, the bicyclist and one of the car drivers were transported to the hospital. The other  car driver  suffered minor injuries and was treated at the scene of the crash. The pedestrian, a 21-year-old woman, suffered severe head trauma  and died from her injuries. The bicyclist, a 26 year old woman, was in critical condition.  The driver was in stable condition. Irene Lee was arrested and charged with running a red light and leaving the scene of the accident resulting in death which is a class D felony.

Read in the Gothamist  

Published on:

By

HitRun2A bicyclist was fatally hit by a car that didn’t stop after an accident  last Saturday in Brooklyn, NYC. The police believe that the driver hit the bicyclist intentionally.  35-year-old Matthew Von Olen was riding back home from a shift at a bar in downtown Manhattan when he was struck by a car in Williamsburg.  A video obtained by the police  shows that the driver intentionally hit the bicyclist and killed him.  The car driver first slowed down at the level of the bicyclist who was riding in the bike lane and then hit him. As Von Olen fell off his bike, the car driver hit him a second time and then ran over him and dragged him about 20 to 30 feet before fleeing. Von Olen suffered severe trauma and died from his injuries. The police are still looking for the car driver who was driving a black 2014-2015 Chevy Camaro with gold New York State license plates (see picture from surveillance camera).  Read more in the Gothamist

  1. Pages:
  3. 1
  4. ...
  5. 20
  6. 21
  7. 22
  8. 23
  9. 24
  10. 25
  11. 26
  12. ...
  13. 34
Badges
Super Lawyers Best Lawyers Martindale-Hubbell
SEE NEW JERSEY DISCLAIMER PAGE- AWARD METHODOLOGY