A 76-year-old pedestrian who was struck by a car two months ago in Queens, NYC, died from her injuries. Maria Damaco was crossing the intersection of Fresh Pond Road and Myrtle Ave Avenue when she was hit by car making a left turn. The car driver, a 36-year-old woman, stayed at the scene of the accident.
Read more in the NY Daily News
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
A 3-year old boy died after he fell from a window in a public housing development in Harlem, New York City. Latyre Sene fell from the 13th floor of a building located in the Harlem River II Houses on Frederick Douglass Blvd. near W. 151st St (picture). The window guard was found next to him. Police are investigating why the window guard fell and didn’t protect the toddler.
Building owners have the responsibility to install and maintain window guards in any apartment where a family is living with children. Because Latyre Sene’s family was illegally subletting the apartment, it wasn’t clear if NYCHA who owns the building was aware that a child lived in this apartment.
On Monday, a maintenance employee was seen leaving the apartment with a drill and 3 guards in his hands. Following the tragic accident, several other residents of the building also asked for a revision of their window guards.
Four people died and two were injured in a car accident in Long Island, NY on Yaphank Middle Island Road near Rustic Road last night. For some unknown reason the driver of a pick up truck veered in to the opposite lane of traffic and hit a car that was coming in the opposite direction. There were four adults and a baby in the car. The driver of the pickup truck as well as two men and a woman who were in the other car died in the accident. The baby and another woman sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital to be treated.
Read more in the NY Daily News
A 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
A motorcyclist died in an accident in Brooklyn, NYC, this weekend. The motorcyclist was heading north on Buffalo Ave. near E. New York Ave. in Crown Heights early Sunday morning when he struck a limo. He was rushed to the hospital but he couldn’t be saved.
Motorcycle accidents in New York City always increase during the months of June, July, August and September. There are usually between 250 and 350 motorcycle accidents every month of the summer in the city. Because motorcyclists only have a helmet to protect themselves, motorcycle accidents often results in serious injuries or death.
Read more in the NY Daily News
After a 30-year-old pedestrian was killed by an unlicensed driver who jumped the curb in Brooklyn (see previous blog ), NYC, her family petitioned the Brookyn DA’s office to initiate a grand jury investigation into the accident and obtain justice for their loved one.
Last December Victoria Nicodemus was walking on a Fort Greene sidewalk with her boyfriend when she was fatally struck by a SUV that apparently jumped the curb to avoid a bus. The SUV was driven by 39-year-old Marlon Sewell. The driver had his license suspended and wasn’t supposed to be behind the wheel. Also according to a recent article from the Gothamist, a preliminary police report indicated that Sewell jumped the curb to avoid the bus in front of him but in a statement yesterday, Transportation Altternatives Deputy Director Caroline Samponaro said that Sewell made the reckless decision to drive on the sidewalk to avoid waiting behind the bus.
Immediately after the accident, Sewell was charged with two misdemeanors and thought he would get away with a $500 ticket. However after the Brooklyn DA office agreed to open a grand jury investigation things changed. Yesterday the grand jury voted for Sewell to be indicted for second-degree manslaughter.
Last week a young pedestrian died in a truck accident but the police said that the truck driver, despite leaving the scene of the accident, will not be charged.
21-year-old Noha Goldstein (picture) was crossing Broadway at the intersection of 61st Street near Columbus Circle in Manhattan, NYC, when hit by a garbage truck, suffering injuries resulting in his death. The driver never stopped. He continued on his way leaving the young man dying in the street. The police were able to find the driver a few days later by looking at video footage of the accident. However for some strange reason the video jumps and only footage of before and after the accident are available. The police said that they believe that the truck driver wasn’t at fault and that he didn’t stop because he probably didn’t see the pedestrian and didn’t know that he hit him because of the nature of the garbage truck.
Read more in the Gothamist
After 3 children were killed by unstable dressers and chests that tipped over on them IKEA is recalling 29 million defective products. The recall involves MALM chests and dressers as well as other chests and dresser models that have more than 3 drawers. These products are unstable and can tip over if they are not properly anchored to the wall.
After two young children died in tip over accidents involving MALM chests in 2014, Ikea and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) launched a repair program offering a free wall anchoring repair kit. Unfortunately this repair program wasn’t enough. Additional tip over incidents were reported including a 22 year old boy who died last February after a MALM 6 drawers chest fell over on him. Following this fatality, IKEA and the CPSC announced Today the above voluntary recall.
Consumers can require a free wall-anchoring kit or return the furniture and obtain a full refund for dressers purchased after 2002, and a partial store credit for older ones.
An elderly woman that caused a 10-car crash in New York City last Sunday died from her injuries on Tuesday. 78 year old Barbara Capone was driving her car on Travis Ave in Staten Island when she hit a car. She didn’t stop. Instead she sped up and crashed into several other vehicles waiting at a red light at the intersection of Travis Ave and Victory Blvd. The impact was so strong that her car went airborne and landed on other vehicles waiting at the intersection. A 75 year old man was pinned inside his car and died at the scene of the accident. 10 other people were injured in the car crash including Barbara Capone and were transported to the hospital. Capone suffered severe head trauma and passed away two days later.
New York Personal Injury Attorneys Blog