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Articles Tagged with bicycle accident nyc

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bicycle truck accidentA bicyclist died after being struck by a tractor-trailer truck in Brooklyn, NYC, on Wednesday morning around 9:00 am. The accident occurred at the intersection of Sterling Place and 6th Ave in Park Slope in an area where tractor-trailers are not authorized to drive except if they have a special permit. In NYC, tractor-trailers can only drive on designated truck roads but according to local residents it is common to see big rigs driving on 6th Avenue especially since the Atlantic Yards has been developed.(see video below). The NYPD doesn’t seem to really care about this issue as so far since the beginning of the year no tickets for truck route violations have been issued by the 78th precinct where the accident happened. Instead of admitting that the truck wasn’t supposed to be driving in a narrow residential avenue, the NYPD blamed the bicyclist for his own death.

In a first statement the police implied that the cyclist was at fault and hit the rear wheel as he was trying to grab the side of the truck to hitch a ride. In a second statement the NYPD changed its version and said that the bicyclist was pulled under the wheel of the truck by a wind force. For this to happen, the truck would have to have been driving at a speed that would likely be impossible to reach on this narrow Brooklyn Ave.  It seems pretty obvious to us hat the big rig wasn’t supposed to drive in the residential area and that he recklessly passed the bicyclist too close. Additionally, witnesses reported that he was driving with headphones on.

Read more in the Gothamist

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In New York  City’s heavy traffic, bicyclists who are commuting to work are facing the risk of being injured or dying in a bicycle accident. As part of the Vision Zero initiative, Mayor Bill de Blasio wants to make New York City a friendly city for bike commuters. Protected bike lanes have proven to be one of the best ways to protect bicyclist from injury or death by negligent car drivers. Unlike regular bike lanes, that are often blocked by cars, protected bike lanes physically separate car traffic and bicycles with concrete, trees or parking lanes.

In 2016 the DOT will implement 15 miles of these types of bike lanes in the City. Last year 12 miles were added. Among this year’s projects, the DOT has work planned and in progress in the following areas of the city’s five boroughs:

  • In the Bronx: using excess roadway space on the accident prone area of Bruckner Boulevard between Hunts Point and Longwood Ave to create a protected bike lane (read more on Streetblog and download DOT PDF here )Protected bike lane Bruckner Blvd
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Bicycle accidents injuries deaths NYC February 2016Bicycle accidents in New York have been on the rise in recent years and so have the number of people injured or killed in these accidents. Commuting by bike has become quite popular among New Yorkers but it remains quite dangerous mostly because car drivers are driving negligently.

Despite new Vision Zero safety measures such as street re-design and the addition of miles of protected bike lanes the biggest danger bicyclists are facing in the city are negligent car drivers. To raise awareness about the danger that commuters are  facing while using their bicycle to go to work, Jake Dobkin from the Gothamist has asked several colleagues who use their bikes for their daily commute to film their ride.

Jack Dobkin commutes daily between Park Slop and Dumbo in Brooklyn and he is using his bicycle to go to work as well. In Episode One of this series, Jack shows his own daily bicycle ride to the office. Jack says that he’d rather ride one more mile on each commute to avoid using Jay Street which is one of the most dangerous street for bikers in NYC (if you want to understand why check the video clip on our( NYC bicycle accident lawyer page).

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bicycle accident locationA bicyclist was fatally struck by a car in NYC on Friday Morning. The bicycle accident happened at the intersection of Classon Avenue and Lexington Avenue in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, New York. The driver was making a left turn from Classon Avenue onto Lexington Avenue when she hit the 34 year old female bicyclist. According to the NYPD the bicyclist was riding southbound against the traffic. According to StreetBlog, the driver, a 41 year old woman, got out of her car and fainted in the street after she saw the victim. The bicyclist suffered severe head and body trauma and was transported to the hospital where she later died from her injuries.

The accident happened at the entrance of a 20 mph neighborhood slow zone. Classon Avenue has a history of accidents and in 2012 the avenue was completely redesigned to become a one-lane road with broader parking spaces on each side. No bike lane was included in the design.

Read more in Streetblog

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The NYPD are actively looking for five negligent hit and run drivers who killed a bicyclist as well as two pedestrians and injured two other pedestrians.

The first accident took place Sunday morning in the Bronx around 1:30 am. 63 year old Jose Contreras was attempting to cross Webster Avenue at the intersection of 175th street when he was struck by a grey SUV. The driver never stopped. The victim who had just attended his sister’s birthday at a nearby catering hall was found by his son. He suffered severe trauma and was rushed to the hospital. He didn’t survive. The police are looking for a 2001-2006 gray suburban Cadillac Escalade. More information about the accident can be found on the ABC7NY website.

The second accident occurred less than an hour later in Queens, NYC.  A 22 year old woman was crossing Guy R. Brewer Boulevard at 118th Road in South Jamaica when she was hit by a silver minivan. The driver never stopped. The police found the young pedestrian unconscious on the ground. She was taken to the hospital where she was diagnosed with critical head trauma.

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269,140 people were injured in NYC auto accidents last year compared to 256,005 in 2014. This represents an increase of almost 5% in one year. The number of crash injuries first decreased between 2013 and 2014 before significantly increasing in 2015.  By categories motorist injuries and cyclist injuries added to the increase while pedestrian injuries and passengers injuries both declined.

While injuries were on the rise, the yearly number of deaths related to motor vehicle accidents gradually declined. From 286 in 2013, it went down more than 12 % to 250 in 2014  and more than 6% to 235 in 2015. By categories, motorists deaths, pedestrians deaths and bicyclists deaths all declined while passengers deaths increased.

Click on graphs to increase to increase size

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A truck fatally  struck a bicyclist in Brooklyn, NYC. The truck accident happened yesterday at 5 pm in Sheepshead Bay. 54 year old Reng Can Ma was riding his bicycle westbound on Avenue U near Ninth Street.  A truck driver who was riding in the same direction passed him to closely and hit him. The truck driver didn’t stop. Witnesses believe his truck was so big that he may have not realized that he hit the bicyclist. The police are still looking for him. They have released a surveillance video showing the truck passing the cyclist seconds before the accident. The truck was a large Ryder truck with Indiana license plates. Several people who witnessed the accident ran over to the victim and tried to help him but there was little they could do. The man was lying in the middle of the street and wasn’t moving. According to a witness he was bleeding from the head and he was confused. He was rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. Read more and see video on ABC7 NY.

Avenue U is Brooklyn’s second Chinatown. It’s a neighborhood that has been developing fast recently. More and more Chinese food markets, bakeries nail salons and electronic stores are opening between Coney Island Ave and Ocean Ave. The traffic has increased as well and numerous complaints have been reported on the Vision Zero map by concerned residents. The Vision Zero map that was used to define the City’s Vision Zero borough safety action plans shows that Sheepshead Bay residents were worried about the safety of Avenue U. Most of the complaints are related to double parking. Residents reported that there were constantly cars double parked on both side of the Avenue.  Jay walking was also reported on several spots. Additionally complaints of running red lights, failure to yield to pedestrians and illegal U-turns were also reported by some residents.

Avenue U

 

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A pedestrian died in a car accident in Brooklyn, NYC last Thursday. The driver was charged with failure to yield and failure to exercise due care and issued a desk appearance ticket.  The victim is a 77 yearl old woman. She was crossing the road at E. 21st Street and Gravensend Neck Road in Sheepshead Bay when a van making a left turn hit her. The driver 23 year old Zafrom Ghafoor was driving South on E. 21st Street. He drove thru a stop sign before making the left turn. If he had stopped he would probably have seen the elderly woman and the accident could have been avoided.

Earlier during the day, a 67 year old female pedestrian was severely injured after being hit by a car in Queens, NYC.  The accident happened at the intersection of 39th Street and Queens Blvd in Sunnyside, Queens, NYC. The driver was making a left turn when he hit the victim. He said he didn’t even see the victim. The woman was severely injured and her leg was partially amputated at the right ankle according to the FDNY.

That same day a 31 year old bicyclist crashed into a 65 year old pedestrian in Brooklyn, NYC. The pedestrian was crossing 60th street at Eighth Ave in Sunset Park when the bicyclist plowed into him. Both of them were injured and taken to the hospital. The pedestrian who suffered head trauma was in critical condition. The bicyclist only suffered minor injury.

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A 34 year old woman died in a NYC accident involving a truck and a bicycle. The woman was riding her bike west on  56th Road near 46th Street in Maspeth, Queens yesterday morning around 8:45 when she was hit by a truck. She was rushed to the hospital in critical condition and died shortly after.  The driver who’s license was suspended was taken into custody. Charges are pending. Read more in the NY Daily News

56th Road

56th Road near 46th Street doesn’t offer much protection to bicyclists, Picture: Google map

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A 21 year old woman died and  her 22 year old friend was  seriously injured in a bicycle accident in New York City.  The two women were riding their bicycles on Hylan Blvd. in Great Kills yesterday afternoon around 4:30 pm when they were struck by a boat trailer that had slipped off  the truck that was towing it. The two women were transported to the hospital.  One of them died, the other one is expected to survive.  The driver stayed at the scene of the accident. Allegedly the trailer hinge had been modified. The driver hasn’t been charged.  Read more in the New York Daily News 

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