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 Queens wrongful death

Published on:

Location of the deadly accident near LaureltownA Long Island man has been arrested more than a year after a fatal crash on the Belt Parkway in Queens that claimed the life of a 27-year-old woman.

According to police, Kenyatta Junior Weston, 31, was charged with manslaughter, vehicular manslaughter, assault, criminal possession of a weapon, driving while intoxicated, driving while ability impaired, reckless driving, and multiple speeding violations in connection with the February 8, 2025 crash.

The crash occurred around 3:47 a.m. on the eastbound Belt Parkway near 233rd Street in Laurelton, Queens, when Weston allegedly lost control of a Toyota while speeding and struck a row of sand barrels. Authorities say both Weston and his passenger, Elizabeth Vanessa Perla Hernandez, were ejected from the vehicle during the violent collision.

Published on:

drunk drivingMore than a year after a tragic crash on the Belt Parkway in Queens claimed the life of a young woman, prosecutors have filed serious criminal charges against the driver allegedly responsible. While criminal proceedings may bring a measure of accountability, families who lose a loved one in a drunk driving crash also have the right to pursue justice through the civil court system.

According to police, Kenyatta Junior Weston, 31, was arrested and charged Tuesday in connection with the Feb. 8, 2025 crash on the Belt Parkway near 233rd Street in Laurelton, Queens. Prosecutors charged Weston with manslaughter, vehicular manslaughter, assault, reckless driving, operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and multiple speeding violations. Authorities also recovered a firearm from the wrecked vehicle.

Police say Weston was speeding eastbound around 3:47 a.m. when he crashed into a row of sand barrels along the parkway. The impact was so severe that Elizabeth Vanessa Perla Hernandez, 27, was ejected from the Toyota. Emergency responders rushed her to Long Island Jewish Valley Stream Hospital, where she later died from her injuries.

Published on:

New_York_City_Department_of_Sanitation_logoA fatal early-morning car and truck collision on the Long Island Expressway in Queens is raising significant legal questions regarding potential municipal liability tied to alleged improper snow removal operations. on the Long Island Expressway in Queens is now raising serious legal questions regarding potential municipal liability for alleged improper snow removal operations.

According to published reports, 50-year-old livery driver Carlos Asitimbay lost control of his vehicle around 4:30 a.m. on February 6 while traveling westbound on the Long Island Expressway near the Van Wyck Expressway. Sources indicate that less than two hours earlier, a sanitation vehicle may have pushed snow and ice from the shoulder into an active traffic lane, a practice prohibited on highways due to higher travel speeds and increased risk of loss-of-control crashes.

After striking the median and coming to rest perpendicular to traffic, Asitimbay’s vehicle was struck by a tractor-trailer. He was transported to NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital Queens, where he later died from catastrophic injuries.

Published on:

rego park where the fatal car accident occurredA fatal incident inside a Queens apartment building parking garage has placed renewed focus on driver responsibility, property safety, and the legal rights of families after preventable tragedies. According to published reports, a 1-year-old child was struck by a BMW inside a parking garage next to the family’s apartment building in Rego Park, Queens. The child was transported to NewYork-Presbyterian Queens, where he later died from his injuries. The driver remained at the scene, and authorities continue to investigate.

From a legal perspective, crashes involving children in parking garages are among the most serious motor-vehicle cases handled by our Queens car accident lawyers. These incidents often involve complex questions of negligence, visibility, speed, vehicle design, and whether the garage itself was reasonably safe for pedestrians.

Parking Garages Are Not “No-Fault” Zones Under New York Law

Published on:

location of the fatal queens bicycle accidentThe family of a Queens cyclist killed last week in Flushing is searching for answers — and accountability — after what police say was a preventable right-turn crash involving a pickup truck.

According to the NYPD, 48-year-old Xi Zheng was riding westbound on Sanford Avenue when he was struck by a Ford F-150 making a right turn from 160th Street. Zheng, who was biking to work as he routinely did, was transported to NewYork-Presbyterian Queens, where he was pronounced dead a short time later.

“He was on his way to work on a bike,” said Zheng’s nephew, Jacky Huang. “He always biked to work. We’re just all trying to make sense of it.”

Published on:

Dooring occurs too often in NYCA fatal dooring crash in Ozone Park, Queens, has once again highlighted the serious and often overlooked dangers faced by cyclists, e-bike riders, and scooter riders on New York City streets. These incidents are not unavoidable accidents—they are frequently the result of a driver or passenger failing to exercise basic care when opening a vehicle door.

The Ozone Park Dooring Crash: A 10-Day Struggle for Survival

On the evening of November 18, 2025, Sahan Ahmed, a 24-year-old electric scooter rider, was traveling westbound on Liberty Avenue near 103rd Avenue in Ozone Park, Queens. As he passed a parked 2012 Kia Soul, the driver opened the driver’s-side door directly into his path.

Published on:

location of the deadly moped accident in QueensA fatal collision in Jamaica, Queens is drawing renewed attention to the risks pedestrians face every day on New York City streets — including those posed by mopeds, e-bikes, and bicycles operated in violation of traffic laws. Police report that 68-year-old Trevor Lloyd Samuels was crossing at 93rd Avenue and 168th Street on Friday evening when he was struck by a moped rider while walking in a marked crosswalk. He suffered severe head trauma and later died at Jamaica Hospital.

The moped operator, 26-year-old Yunior Rodriguez, remained at the scene and was taken to Queens Hospital, where he was arrested and charged with aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle.

For Mr. Samuels’s family, the sudden loss has been devastating. His daughter described him as a man with “story for days”—a former correctional officer in Jamaica for nearly four decades, a dedicated home health aide, and a deeply loved father and grandfather. His five children and five grandchildren are now grappling with the weight of a preventable tragedy that unfolded in seconds.

Published on:

Deadly Queens IntersectionA tragic crash in South Richmond Hill, Queens left one woman dead and another seriously injured on Saturday afternoon, underscoring both the dangers of reckless driving and the complex legal issues that arise in pedestrian accident cases.

What Happened at Van Wyck Service Road and Liberty Avenue

According to police, a Mercedes-Benz driven by a 65-year-old woman slammed into the rear of a Toyota Scion that had been stopped to make a left turn. The force of the impact pushed the Toyota forward into two women who were crossing the street.

Published on:

Prima Donna restaurant might have some responsibility in the death of the pedestrianExploring wrongful death, personal injury, and bar liability after an alcohol-fueled, intentional vehicle attack

A horrifying incident in Queens left 16-year-old Jhoanny Alvarez dead after, prosecutors say, a man intentionally drove his Chevrolet Suburban into a group of people outside the Prima Donna Restaurant in the early hours of September 15, 2025. The Queens District Attorney has since charged 38-year-old Edwin Cruz Gomez with murder, attempted murder, and related counts. Police report that Cruz Gomez’s blood alcohol concentration measured 0.137% after the crash.

When a violent act with a motor vehicle results in death, victims’ families face two separate paths to justice: criminal prosecution and civil recovery. In addition to a wrongful death lawsuit against the driver, the family may have grounds to pursue Dram Shop liability against any establishment that negligently sold or served alcohol to the driver before the attack. In catastrophic cases involving alleged intentional conduct and intoxication, a thorough civil investigation can mean the difference between partial and full accountability.

Published on:

Fatal-Queens-IntersectionA tragic accident occurred in Queens on Sunday afternoon when a pedestrian was fatally struck by a vehicle at the intersection of 39th Avenue and 30th Street, according to the NYPD.

What Happened

Police reported that at approximately 12:48 p.m., a 38-year-old woman was walking in the south crosswalk when she was hit by a 2020 Ford Transit van. She was rushed to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead.