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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During the third quarter of 2021, a total of 71 people died in crashes in New York City including 24 pedestrians, 5 cyclists, 9 passengers and 33 motorists. Since the Covid19 crisis started, auto accident fatalities in New York City have peaked and  street safety activists are pointing fingers at the de Blasio administration for failing to keep the streets safe.

A total of 14,335 people were injured in traffic accidents in New York City during Q3 2021 compared to respectively 13,437, 16,083, 16,300, 15,860, 16,048, 13,998, 13,472, 14,900 during Q3 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013. Before 2015, the passengers category  was the one with the most injuries with usually between 5,000 and 6,000 passenger injuries during Q3. In 2015 after the introduction of the Vision Zero program, passenger injuries significantly declined to 4,121 while motorist injuries jumped from 4,502 to 6,043. The increase in motorist injuries is linked to an increase in accidents related to distracted driving and more and more people using their cellphone while driving. After the first year of Vision Zero, passenger injuries during Q3 went back above 5,000 and then, back below 5,000 after the Covid19 crisis hit in 2020. Motorist injuries, mostly linked to distracted driving continued to rise reaching a record high in 2019 with 7,437 motorists injured during Q3.

New York Auto Accident injuries by category during Q3
6,349  motorists were injured in car accidents in New York City during the third quarter of 2021 compared to 5,931 for the same period of 2020 and 7,437 for the same period of 2019. Motor vehicle accident injuries reached a peak during Q3 2019 in New York City and then dropped to levels never seen since 2014 when the Covid19 crisis hit.  They were up during this year’s Q3 but not as high as what they used to be during Q3 2019.

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A SUV driver struck a pedestrian in Brooklyn, NYC, and while he remained at the scene of the accident, the pedestrian who was hit, vanished from the accident scene. When EMS arrived, they looked for him but could not find him. The accident occurred in Bath Beach. The SUV driver was making a right turn from Bath Avenue onto Bay Parkway when he struck the pedestrian. He remained at the scene of the accident and was not charged. The next day, the police were called for someone injured in a house and found the 52 year old pedestrian dead in his apartment. They found out that the pedestrian stumbled home and suffered a massive head injury that killed him.  Read more in the NY Daily News

While still on a declining trendline, over the past 8 years, NYC pedestrian fatalities have been on the rise this year compared to the previous years. 66 pedestrians died between January 1st and July 31st this year compared to 57 during the same period of last year and 57 during the same period of 2018.

Spike of pedestrian fatalities in New York City

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Bronx intersection where the MTA bus accident occurredA pedestrian crossing the street in the Bronx was fatally struck by a MTA bus last night around 8:30 pm. The bus driver was making a left turn at the intersection of Johnson Avenue and Kappock Street in New York City, when he struck a 68 year old woman whose identity has not been revealed by the police.

The victim was run over by the rear wheels of the bus and died at the scene of the accident.

The tragedy occurred in a residential area of Spuyten Duyvil where bus drivers should expect pedestrians and drive cautiously. According to officials, the driver has been withheld from further service and will have to take a fitness for duty test. (Read more in the NY Daily News

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8 pedestrians, 3 cyclists, 4 motor vehicle passengers, and 13 motor vehicle drivers died in auto accidents in New York City during the month of July. Usually, monthly pedestrian deaths account for the largest share of the road fatalities in New York City but since the pandemic started, monthly motorist deaths often account for the biggest part of the motor vehicle accident fatalities in the city. As a result of this increase in motorist fatalities, since the end of the lockdown, the number of auto deaths was above 20 for 9 months out of 14. As a comparison, in 2019, it was above 20 only twice during the entire year and in 2018, only once during the entire year. Speed and recklessness have been a factor in many of these deaths as well as an increased amount of New Yorkers travelling by car instead of public transportation because of Covid19 fears.

Car accident deaths by road users in New York July 21
NYC traffic accident deaths in the month of July reached their highest since July 2014 with 28 fatalities. Since June last year, road fatalities have been out of control in New York City. For the 4th consecutive month, auto accident fatalities remained above 20 and significantly above the trendline. These high numbers of fatalities had not been seen since 2013 before Vision Zero started.

Auto accident deaths NYC July 2021

Traffic accident injuries lower than before the pandemic

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Brooklyn location of the deadly pedestrian accidentA 6 year old pedestrian was killed by a reckless driver in New York City yesterday afternoon.

Little Hiromi Tami was crossing the street with her mother near the  intersection of 12th Avenue and 67th Street in Dyker Heights, Brooklyn when 30 old year old Qiuhua Zhu sped into oncoming traffic, blew a red light and slammed into the little girl. He then  sped away, circled the block, came back and was arrested by the police. All 3 of them were living in the neighborhood where the accident took place.

Mother devastated by the accident

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A 23 year old New York pedestrian died and 5 others were injured in two separate hit-and-run accidents.

20 year old Aniya Blandon  died in a in hit-and-run accident in Brooklyn on Monday. The young woman was standing at a bus stop with her husband when a driver who was apparently drag racing, lost control of the vehicle, jumped the curb and hit them. Her husband, 23 year old Kevon Westley tried to push her out of the way but it was too late. The wife and husband were both on their way to work. Kevon was planning on dropping his wife at the dollar store where she works with her cousin before going to work as maintenance person at the Philip Howard Apartments in Brooklyn. As they were waiting for the bus at Utica Ave. and Eastern Parkway in Crown Heights, Kevon saw a first car passing by at high speed, then the second one followed, hit a bump and drifted toward them. Kevon tried to push Aniya out of the way and then passed out. He woke up in the ambulance and was later on diagnosed with a concussion and multiple injuries to his arm, leg and foot. When he woke up in the ambulance, his wife was still alive but passed away shortly after.  A witness to the accident saw the two cars racing and saw one of them jumping the curb and hitting a utility pole that fell on Aniya and hit her in the head. The driver of the car took off on foot.

A day before, on Sunday evening, in Washington Heights, Manhattan, a hit and run driver slammed into two women and two children who were crossing the street.  One of the pedestrians, a 36 year old woman suffered traumatic brain injury and was listed in critical condition. The two children a 9 year old and an eight year old boy suffered minor injuries. The police are still looking for the driver of the Mercedes Benz who sped away after slamming into them.

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A total of 118 people including 39 motorists, 16 motor vehicle passengers, 5 cyclists and 58 pedestrians lost their life in crashes in New York City during the first six months of 2021. This is the highest number of traffic accident fatalities during the first semester since 2013 when 121 people died in crashes. During the 7 following years, after Vision Zero was launched in 2014, auto fatalities declined and oscillated around 100 during the first six months of the year with their lowest at 84 deaths during the first semester of 2018.

traffic accident fatalities NYC 1st semester 2021
New York City auto accident injuries were lower than usual during the first semester of 2021. Since the beginning of the pandemic last year, less people have been on the road in the city which might explain the decline in injuries. A total of 22,898 people were injured. Among them were 10,975 motorists, 6,492 passengers, 2,303 cyclists and 3,128 pedestrians.

traffic accident injuries new york 1st sem 2021
Pedestrian fatalities were at their highest since 2014 last semester with 58 deaths compared to respectively, 37, 51, 49, 49, 56, 34, 60 and 72 during the first six months of 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014 and 2013.It is very disappointing that after 7 years of  multiple Vision Zero initiatives, the number of pedestrian fatalities is back at its 2014 level. Are more pedestrians dying because the streets are still less busy than usual and more people are speeding or driving in a reckless manner?

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accident sceneA hit-and-run moped driver crashed into a 4 year old pedestrian and seriously injured him last Sunday in New York City. The accident occurred in the Flushing Meadows-Corona Park near the Boathouse at the end of the afternoon. 4 year old Jonathan Beauchamp was hanging in the park with his parents and other children and relatives when  dirt bike and moped riders showed up and started to do donuts.  A mope rider struck 4 year old Jonathan and fled away. The boy was rushed to the emergency room by his dad and was diagnosed with acute head trauma. He remains in critical but stable condition. The police are still looking for the moped driver.

Hit-and-run drivers get away with murder all the time in NYC

In New York City, very few hit-and-run drivers are being found by the police and even in cases resulting in serious injury, many of the hit-and-run drivers face no consequences. Less than a quarter  of hit-and-run drivers involved in accidents resulting in death or serious injuries are indeed arrested.  47 people were critically injured or died in hit-and-run accidents in New York City during the first six months of 2021 and only 11 arrests were made which represent 23% of all the serious cases.  While looking at all hit-and run accidents including those that only result in property damage only 1% of the hit and run drivers are being arrested in New York City.

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1 bicyclist, 15 pedestrians, 11 motorists and 3 passengers lost their life in crashes in New York City last May. That is a total of 30 fatalities. Since Vision Zero started in 2014, this is the first time that such a high number of traffic accident fatalities were recorded during a month of May.  Last year because of the Covid-19 lockdown, only 5 fatal crashes occurred in May and during the previous years respectively, 18, 13, 11, 18, 28, 25 and 15 people died in NYC traffic accidents in May 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014 and 2013.  Since the beginning of  the Covid-19 crisis, the de Blasio administration seems to have given up on all the efforts deployed during Vision Zero and the recent traffic accident fatality numbers are similar to the numbers reported during the pre-Vision Zero era.

car-crash-deaths-New-york-May-2021
4,927 people were injured in crashes in New York last May compared to 2,437 during the Covid-19 lockdown in May 2020 and 5,554 in May 2019. The number of car accident injuries last May is a little bit lower than what it was during May 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019.

traffic accident injuries nyc May 2020
While looking at fatalities by category of road users, pedestrians and motorists accounted for the majority of the fatalities last May. Bicyclist fatalities have been lower than usual and passenger fatalities remained somewhat stable.  It is the first time since 2013, before Vision Zero started, that road fatalities in New York City are above 25 for two months in a row.  Over the last 12 months, monthly traffic accident deaths in New York have been 5 times over 25. Even in 2013, before Vision Zero started, monthly auto accident deaths only went 4 times over 25 during the entire year.

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6 NYC pedestrians were injured after a car jumped the curb at high speed and hit them in the Bronx early Saturday morning. All pedestrians were members of the same family and had just exited Grant Park in the Bronx after a family gathering. They were standing on the sidewalk outside the park when a gray jeep travelling at a high rate of speed jumped the curb and struck them. A 16 year old boy and his mother were pinned under the jeep. The mother was critically injured while the boy suffered broken bones. The rest of the family, another 16 year old boy, a 40 year old man and two women were also injured and transported to the hospital to be treated.

After the accident occurred, the driver and the passenger got out of the vehicle and ran away. A group of people were able to catch the driver but the passenger came back to the scene escorted with friends and one of them shot a gun in the air to scare the crowd which let the driver go.

The family told CBS News that the driver intentionally hit them. The police are still investigating the accident.