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 Pedestrian Accidents

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61 year old Jean Chambers died on July 10th after being struck by a driver making a left turn at the intersection of of West 95th Street and West End (see previous blog). Earlier this year 9 year old Cooper Stock was crossing the street in the crosswalk and holding his dad’s hand when a taxi turning from 97th Street onto West End Ave struck them. His dad only sustained minor injuries but the young boy died (see previous blog). 96 pedestrians, 41 cyclists and 160 motor vehicles occupants have been injured in traffic accidents on West End between W 75th Street and W 106th Street from 2008 to 2012. West End Ave is dangerous because it is a large 4 lane avenue located in a residential area with schools and seniors center that handles a lot of traffic entering and exiting the Henry Hudson Parkway between 95th and 97th street.

To calm traffic and make it safer for the residents, the Community Board 7 Transportation Committee accepted this week a Road Diet proposal form the NYC Department of Transportation. The proposal includes the reduction of the number of lanes from 4 to two with turn bays, flush median and several pedestrian islands but no bike lanes. The proposal also bans two left turns where traffic exit and enter the Henry Hudson Parkway:Northbound left at W 97th St and Southbound left at W 95th St. The next step is to get the endorsement of the CDB7 full board meeting on September 2nd.

Download the complete DOT Proposal

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A woman in her 20s was hospitalized in critical condition after she was hit by a van last night around 3:00 am. According to the New York Daily News, the woman was running across 10th Street under a pouring rain when a van driving northbound on Hudson St. hit her. The driver stayed at the scene and he wasn’t charged. He told the police he never saw the woman.

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There were 18,321 motor vehicle accidents in New York City in June according to the recent statistics published by the NYPD. This is the highest number of accidents per month in one year and the second consecutive month that this number is above 18,000. A similar increase in vehicle accidents was also observed for the months of May and June last year. During these two months this number was also above 18,000. The total number of motor vehicle accidents for the first six months of 2014 is 8068 compared to 8828 in 2013, a decrease of 9.1%.

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4950 people suffered personal injury in a motor vehicle accident last June compared to 4621 in May and 5046 in June 2014. During the first six months of the year 24,383 people suffered personal injury in a vehicle accident compared to 26,119 for the first six months of 2013, a decrease of 7%.

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For the first 6 months of 2014 there were 117 traffic fatalities compared to 121 in 2013. 20 people died in traffic accidents in June compared to 25 the previous month and 22 in June 2013. The number of motorist deaths was higher than usual for the last two months.

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Speeding and failure to yield to pedestrians are the leading causes of traffic fatalities and personal injuries to pedestrians in New York City. Therefore as part of the Vision Zero Initiative all NYPD precincts have been instructed at the beginning of this year to increase enforcement of the most dangerous traffic violations.

A new report card from Transportation Alternatives published last week looks at six months of Vision Zero Traffic Enforcement in New York City. Globally across the city, speeding tickets increased by 32% and tickets for failure to yield increased by 153% for the first 6 months of 2014 compared to the first 6 months of 2013. However while looking at the numbers precinct by precinct, Transportation Alternative discovered huge discrepancies. The most troubling was to find neighborhood precincts with similar traffic conditions and street design that had very different enforcement efforts. For example In Harlem,the 26th Precinct nearly doubled the number of speeding summonses issued from last year(294 to 533),

while the adjacent 30th Precinctin Washington Heights issued half as many summonses as they did the prior year.

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A 79 year old woman was killed in a traffic accident in Queens on Friday morning. The woman was crossing 99th street when she was hit by a van which was making a left-hand turn from 62nd road. The driver stayed at the scene (see video below).

One day before another elderly pedestrian was killed by a vehicle in Queens (see previous post) and a 77 year old woman suffered critical personal injury after being struck by a Jeep Wrangler at the Lily Pond Avenue and Narrows Road South in Arrochar, Staten Island, NYC (read more in the SILive)

Last week, the AARP published the results of a voter survey that indicates that 40% of of voters above 50 years old consider drivers who fail to yield to pedestrians a serious problem and 25% of them also say that traffic signals are too quick and don’t allow enough time to cross the road. (read more in New York City Street Blog)

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How in the middle of the day, did a driver fail to see an 80-year-old crossing the street in front of her on a one way residential street?
In a recent article in StreetBlog, Brad Aaron is questioning why the police didn’t charge the driver who crashed into 80 year old Margherita Nanfro as she was crossing Rutherford Place at Bay 16th Street in Bath Beach, Brooklyn, NYC, around noon on July 25th. Pictures from the accident suggest that the driver may have been speeding as the impact was strong enough to throw the elderly woman onto the windshield. Reports also suggest that the victim had the right of way.

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An 87 year old woman who was trying to cross the street was hit by a car near Willets Point Blvd and 163rd St in Flushing, Queens, New York, yesterday night. She suffered severe head injuries and later died in the hospital.

In New York City, senior pedestrians have a higher risk to die in a car accident than adult pedestrians. Recent statistics from the DOT show that seniors represent 12% of the NYC population but account for 36% of NYC pedestrian traffic fatalities.
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Source: DOT Safe Street for Seniors New York City

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A pedestrian died after she was hit by at least one car on Flatbush Ave near Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn. The accident happened yesterday night after 9 pm and heavy rainfalls were reducing drivers visibility. According to the NY Daily News, the woman had exited of a parked car and was trying to cross Flatbush Ave. A 37 year old motorist hit her and did not stop immediately but returned to the scene shortly after. He told the police that he didn’t realize immediately that he had hit a person. According to the police it is possible that a second car also hit the woman.

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A young boy was seriously injured after he was hit by a minivan Saturday in the Bronx, NYC. According to the New York Daily News, the boy was playing with friends when he ran out into the street. He was struck by a minivan driven by a lady who witnesses said was seen texting behind the wheel prior to the accident. The lady also had her children in her car. She remained at the scene and so far no charges have been filed. The boy who suffered serious but non life threatening injuries was rushed to the hospital.

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A pedestrian was killed after a SUV making a left turn hit her and dragged her down a New York street for half a block . The pedestrian was 61 year old Jean Chamber, an artist who lived on the Upper west Side. She was crossing West End with the light when a SUV making a left turn from 95th street struck her causing her death.

Read more in the New York Daily News

Jean%20Chamber.jpg Facebook picture of Jean Chamber with her husband and her daughter