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 Tagged with car accident nyc

Published on:

accident sceneA man who stopped to help a stranger died after being struck by a hit and run driver in Queens, NYC. Last Friday night around 8:30 pm, 51 year old Mike Agurkis was driving his car on the Nassau Expressway in Springfield Gardens when he saw a motorist stranded along the side of the highway. The good Samaritan pulled in front of the stranger got out of his car and offered to help him.

As he was standing in between the two cars stopped on the side of the highway, the driver of a blue minivan hit the vehicle of the stranded driver which in a chain reaction slammed into Mike and killed him. The driver of the blue minivan abandoned the blue van and ran away on foot. The police are still looking for him.

Mike Agurkis’s children and his ex-wife are heartbroken. They told journalists that that’s how their dad was. He would always stop to help people. Mike’s landlord and a neighbor also confirmed that Mike lived his life to help people.

Published on:

116 bicyclists, 504 pedestrians, 1,116 motor vehicle passengers and 1,795 motor vehicle drivers were injured in traffic accidents in New York City during the month of November for a total of 4,039 people injured. Another 28 people died in similar circumstances, among them were 6 cyclists, 13 pedestrians, 1 passenger and 8 drivers. (click on graphs for full size)

Traffic Accident Injuries NYC November 2020
New York Auto Accident Death November 20
While the total number of monthly deaths reached a record high for the month of November since Vision Zero was launched in 2013, the total number of monthly injuries was at its lowest since 2013 for the month of November.  Since the beginning of 2020 when the Covid pandemic started, the streets of New York City are less busy than usual which might explain why the monthly number of people injured in traffic accidents for the entire year stayed below the trendline. However less traffic has lead to speeding and other reckless activities  which resulted in more traffic fatalities.

Car accident injuries in New York in November with trendline
car accident death in NYC in November with trendline
Because of the pandemic, the city saw an increase of people using bicycles to commute. However riding a bike in New York City remains dangerous despite new bike lanes that are being implemented all over the city. While cyclists infrastructure are decently developed in Manhattan it is not the case in the other boroughs especially in the Bronx where Citi Bike has implemented new bike shares but protected bike lanes are still rare. As a result the number of NYC bicycle accident injuries and deaths are exploding. Last November 6 people died in bicycle accidents compared to respectively 1,0, 2, 0, 0, 1, 2 and 2 in November 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014 and 2013. This is the second time in the last 3 months that the monthly number of bike accident deaths reached a record high. The number of injuries also jumped to 504 last November compared to respectively 246, 285, 366, 346, 276, and 280 in November 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014 and 2013. The number of bicycle accident injuries more than doubled from November 2019 to November 2020. The total number of bicycle accidents was also on the rise with 537 accidents in November compared to respectively 367, 375, 400, 465, 454, 383 and 368 in November 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014 and 2013. While  the graphs below clearly show that the total number of bicycle accidents and the resulting injuries are seasonal and reach their peaks during the summer all trendlines are on the rise and over the recent months bicycle accidents injuries and deaths have all reached record highs.

Published on:

location of the fatal car accidentTwo women car pooling to work were killed after their car was T-boned by a speeding driver who blew a red light in East New York. The fatal car accident took place at the intersection of Flatlands Ave and Pennsylvania Av.

Sandra Liberice and Nerlye Sainvil were car pooling together to work. Both women were healthcare workers taking care of mentally disabled children at a group home run by the nonprofit organization “Services for the Undeserved. They had a night shift.  Sainvil had picked up Liberice and they were carpooling together to work. They were less than a mile away from their destination when the accident occurred. Video surveillance showed that the two women were travelling East on Flatland Ave. After the light turned green at the intersection of Pennsylvania Ave, Sainvil started to slowly drive through the intersection when all of sudden a speeding BMW T-boned them at full speed. The two occupants of the BMW were able to extricate themselves from their car and fled the scene of the accident on foot leaving the two women dying behind them.  They both died at the scene of the accident.

Both women were essential workers and had been going to work during the covid-19 lockdown. They both immigrated from Haiti. Nerlye  Sainvil immigrated to the US in 2001, She had a Law degree from Haiti and initially studied to work as a paralegal. She was hired as a direct care worker at the group home and decided to stay there.  Sainvil was 58 year old. She was a church goer and she as suppsoed to get married to her fiancé this year but the wedding was postponed because of the covid-19 crisis. Her fiancé and her 8 siblings were in shock. She was suppsoed to go to visit he sister in Pennsylvania during the holidays.

Published on:

location of the deadly pedestrian accidentA pedestrian was killed by a reckless driver in Brooklyn last week. The 53 year old woman was crossing the street in the crosswalk at the intersection of Glenwood Road and 55th Street when she was struck by a car driven by 22 year old Michael Rajpaul.

Rajpaul was chased by another driver who he previously hit

Previous to hitting the pedestrian with his 2008 Hyundai, Rajpaul had a fender bender with a BMW. Instead of staying at the scene of the accident he sped away and the driver of the BMW chased him. As he drove South on 55th in the wrong way and at high speed, he ran a red light and was t-boned by another car driving through the greenlight. His car spun around and he hit a 53 year old pedestrian wo got thrown into a parked car. She was rushed to the hospital but the impact was so intense that she died from her injuries.  None of the drivers were injured.

Published on:

location of the crashA mother of six children suffered life threatening injuries in a car accident in New York City early Tuesday morning. The accident occurred a little bit after midnight. The 32 year old victim identified as Malka Braver was riding in the back of a Honda Accord driven by a Lyft driver. As their car was crossing the intersection of Dekalb Avenue and Bedford Avenue (see Google map picture on the left) with the light in their favor, a reckless driver speeding down Dekalb Avenue in a Dodge Charger blew the red light and T-boned the back of the Lyft car. The impact was so intense that the victim got ejected from the Honda which spun around, crashed into another parked vehicle and jumped the curb to finally stop right in front a the entrance of a deli. The victim was rushed to the hospital where she is still fighting for her life. The Lyft driver and the Charger driver both suffered minor injuries and were also transported to the hospital according to the police. The driver of the Dodge Charger was identified as 22 year old Ryan Ortiz from Middletown, NY.  The car driven by Ortiz was a souped-up dodge charger with vanity plates “SCR3AM” and a wrap-around design from the horror movie Scream. Videos of the car performing donuts in the Kings Plaza Shopping Center parking lot a few hours before the accident were found on social media. Ortiz was not arrested and the investigation is ongoing. Read more in the Gothamist  .

One day earlier another young driver killed his passenger and almost killed himself in reckless Queens crash

Published on:

After reaching a record high in September, NYC auto accident fatalities remained high with 12 pedestrians, 1 cyclist, 4 passengers and 7 drivers killed in auto accidents in October compared to respectively 13 pedestrians, 6 bicyclists, 2 passengers and 14 drivers last September and 9 pedestrians, 3 cyclists, 1 passengers and 5 drivers in October 2019 (click on graphs for full format)

After remaining below 20 for the last 4 years, motor vehicle accident fatalities for the month of October  are back to pre Vision Zero levels with a total of 24 people killed on NYC streets.

Auto accident deaths NYC October 2020
While the number of traffic deaths was higher, the number of people injured in car accidents in New York City was at the lowest level for for the 8 years under review in the graph below. A total of 4,235 people sustained injuries in traffic accidents in the city compared to respectively 5,204, 5,498, 5,450, 5,083, 4,851, 4,692 and 4,830 in October 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014 and 2013.

Published on:

Facebook pic of the victimA man speeding and under the influence of alcohol or drugs crashed into the car of a hospital worker on his way to work and killed him.

Daniel Crawford, a phlebotomist at Queens Hospital Center was on his way to work last Friday morning around 4:00 am. He was driving his Toyota through the green light at the intersection of  Parsons Boulevard and Union Turnpike in Jamaica, Queens, when he was T-boned by a Mercedes Benz driven by 22 year old Alamin Ahmed.  Crawford was rushed to the hospital where he usually goes to work but he could not be saved.

A dad, a frontline worker and a future nurse

Published on:

location of the bike collision
A New York cyclist who was struck by a car died from his injuries one week after the accident occurred. On Saturday November 7th around 1:00 am , Juan Tiu-Caxaj was riding his bicycle on Autumn Avenue. As he crossed Fulton Street he collided with a car heading westbound on Fulton Street. The driver stayed at the scene of the accident. He was not charged. The young victim suffered head trauma and was transported to the hospital. His condition was stable but  it deteriorated and he died from his injuries a week later.

According to the police, the cyclist rode through a stop sign just before the collision.  The investigation is still ongoing to find out the exact cause of the accident.

According to Vision Zero studies, East New York is among the most dangerous areas in New York for bicyclists. However so far not much has been done in this neighborhood to promote bicyclists safety compared to other areas of New York City like Manhattan.

Published on:

A moped rider and 2 pedestrians were struck by cars in New York City in less than 24h.

In the first accident a driver hit a 94 year old man in a motorized wheelchair. The accident occurred yesterday afternoon on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. The elderly man was crossing 5th Ave at the intersection of 95th street. He was in the crosswalk when a 32 year old driver struck him. The victim was critically injured and was rushed to the hospital. He is now in stable condition according to the NY Daily News.   The driver stayed at the scene of the accident and wasn’t charged as police indicated that it was not clear who had the right of way.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6In0OUvQm8

Published on:

A pedestrian and a motorist died in two separate car accidents in Queens, NYC, last night.

A woman speeding in her car killed herself after she lost control of her vehicle and crashed into a building, setting the car on fire. The accident occurred last night around 11:50 pm in Queens, NYC. 58 year old Berverlee Jackson was speeding on 11th Street in Hunter Point when she suddenly jumped the curb and crashed into a building. The impact was so intense that Beverlee was ejected from her Honda CRV SUV and then pinned under it while the vehicle spun around and ultimately caught fire. Firefighters and EMS rushed to the rescue but it was too late. Beverlee Jackson was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident. The woman lived in Flatbush, 8 miles away from the location of the accident.  Read more in the NY Daily News

A few hours later, also in Queens, another victim died in a SUV accident. The victim is a 72 year old location-of-the-second-deadly-accidentpedestrian who was struck by a car while crossing the road. His identity was not reveled by the police. The man was crossing at the intersection of the Horace Hardin Expressway, a service road  near the Long Island Expressway, and Main Street around 4:45 am.  He was in the crosswalk when a Toyota Sienna plowed into him. The pedestrian was rushed to the hospital but he could not be saved. The driver stayed at the scene of the accident and was not charged. Read more in the NY Daily News