brooklyn wrongful death

Published on: October 19, 2022

Elderly pedestrian killed in MTA Bus Accident

A MTA bus driver fatally struck a pedestrian in Brooklyn, NYC. The bus accident occurred at the intersection of Flatbush Ave and Glenwood Road in Flatbush around 6:15 PM last Thursday.

79 year old Loraine Hector was in the crosswalk when the MTA bus driver made a left turn and struck her. The bus driver remained at the scene of the accident and so far was has not been charged. Loraine Hector who lived 500 feet away from the accident scene suffered a severe head trauma. She was still alive when she was transported to the hospital but died later on from her injury.

According to the NYPD, the bus driver made a left turn from Flatbush Avenue onto Glenwood Road when he struck the victim. Read more in the Brooklyn Paper

Continue reading →

Published on: October 14, 2022

Cyclist killed in tractor trailer truck accident in Brooklyn, NYC

By GGCRBHS&M

Another cyclist was fatally struck by a tractor trailer in NYC on Wednesday. The tractor trailer was on a non truck route. The victim was identified as 25 year old Kala Santiago, a mother of 2 children, 2months and 1 and half year old. She was on her way to work and was riding her bicycle on Parkside Avenue near Parade Place in the vicinity of Prospect Park when the fatal accident occurred.

Truck driver blames the victim even though he failed to yield to her

So far the police did not charge the truck driver who was identified as Saeed Ahmed. He told the police that the cyclist fell under his truck after she hit a vehicle parked on the side of the road. He also said he saw the cyclist in front of him and she seemed nervous. The driver also told Liam Quigley from the NY Daily News (see twitter post below) that he saw the cyclist and overtook her but stopped as soon as he saw she fell under the wheels of the truck. Pictures of the accident seemed to indicate that Kala Santiago might have been crushed between a parked truck on the right side and the tractor trailer on her left side. Another surveillance video shows that the tractor trailer failed to yield to her and overpassed her with oncoming traffic in the other direction. As a result there was not enough space and the cyclist might have been crushed between the two trucks.

Continue reading →

Published on: October 6, 2022

Truck driver arrested after killing pedestrian in Brooklyn NYC

By GGCRBHS&M

A reckless truck driver fatally struck a NYC pedestrian as he was in the crosswalk with the light in his favor. The truck accident occurred early morning around 6:30 am on October 4th.

63 year old Benjamin Berger was crossing the street at the intersection of Flushing Avenue and Bedford Avenue. He was in the crosswalk with the greenlight in his favor when a box truck turning left from Flushing Avenue onto Bedford Avenue literally rolled over him. A surveillance video posted by Williamsburg News shows the truck turning recklessly without slowing down and driving over the victim. When paramedics arrived at the scene of the accident they found the victim dead with severe body and head injuries. The man was living just a block away.

The driver was identified as 44 year old Torriez Bailey from Maryland. He was arrested by the police and charged with failure to use due care and failure to yield to a pedestrian.

Continue reading →

Published on: June 30, 2022

Reckless New York City driver speeding away from traffic stop, kills one pedestrian and injures 4 others

By GGCRBHS&M

A reckless driver who tried to flee the police in Brooklyn, NYC, struck a bicyclist and two pedestrians, continued driving, struck three other pedestrians, crashed into a vehicle and then into a wall before running away with a passenger. One suspect is in custody while the other is still at large.

According to the police, two officers patrolling in Bedford-Stuyvesant saw a car with mismatched plates which is usually an indication that the car might have been stolen. They also noticed that the two people inside the car were smoking marijuana. As they got out of the police car to talk to the driver after turning on their lights and pulling the car over, the driver of the vehicle took off.

As he was fleeing from the police, the reckless driver first struck a cyclist and two pedestrians at the intersection of Macon Street and Ralph Avenue. He did not stop and continued speeding on Ralph Avenue. As he reached Hasley Street, the driver hit a grandmother and her grandson who were crossing the street. He then crashed into another car and careened into the wall of building. The driver and the passenger then got out of the car and ran away.

Continue reading →

Published on: May 2, 2022

Brooklyn pedestrian dies in chain reaction crash

By GGCRBHS&M

A pedestrian was fatally struck between two parked cars in Brooklyn, NYC on Saturday morning around 9:35 am.

The accident occurred as 48 year old Everton Stewart was cleaning his car parked in front of his parents’ house located in Canarsie on E. 89th Street near Avenue L. He was standing between the back of his car and the front of his father’s car which was parked right behind him when another car that was coming down the street slammed into his father’s car and pinned him between the two vehicles. The man was rushed to the hospital but he did not survive.

The driver who caused the chain accident, a 46 year old woman with a child in the car, swerved to avoid a car and then according to the police “accelerated for no reason” and crashed into the father’s car. She was arrested by the police and charges are still pending.

Continue reading →

Published on: March 24, 2022

NY Construction company and its owner indicted on manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and additional charges following the death of a child

By GGCRBHS&M

A Nassau contractor whose negligence caused the death of a 5 year old child in Brooklyn, NYC, in 2019 has been indicted on manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, reckless endangerment, offering a false instrument for filing and falsifying business records. He is due back in court in May.

Alysson Pinto-Chauman had her skull crushed in front of her mom

The accident occurred on August 29 2019. 5 year old Alysson Pinto-Chaumana was with her mom and a group of friends standing in front of the high wall of a property located on Harman Street in Bushwick, Brooklyn when part of the wall suddenly collapsed on the toddler. Her skull was crushed in the accident. Her mom who was standing next to her witnessed the entire scene and said the vision will be engraved in her memory forever.

Continue reading →

Published on: March 11, 2022

NYC Car Accident Deaths and Injuries: The Carnage Continues

By GGCRBHS&M

Another pedestrian died in a a car accident in Brooklyn, NYC, early Tuesday morning. The 62 year old woman stepped off the curb on Pennsylvania Avenue near the intersection of Linden Boulevard stumbled and fell on the road around 12:58 am. Shortly after a car ran over her and kept going. The police said it was not clear if the driver knew he hit someone. The woman suffered massive traumatic brain injury and died at the scene of the accident. Located in East New York, Pennsylvania Boulevard is a massive speedway that did not receive the type of Vision Zero safety treatment that can be seen in wealthier areas of New York. (read more in the NY Daily News).

Additionnally on Sunday around 4:00 am a reckless driver totaled his a car and a war monument in a massive explosion in Brooklyn. The driver of a BMW with a Texas license plate was speeding when he lost control of his vehicle and crashed into the war memorial in the center of Bartel Pritchard Square near Prospect Park. Two people were in the car, the driver and a 23 year old female passenger. The young woman was injured and transported to the hospital while the driver refused medical attention. It is difficult to understand why the driver of this car was still allowed to drive. The license plates show that the car had 145 violations since January 14 2021.including 95 speed camera tickets and 25 red light cameras tickets. The car was also issued two dozen parking tickets but was never impounded despite being way above the $350 threshold in unpaid tickets for being towed away.

People are getting killed and injured in car accidents in New York City at a rate never seen since Vision Zero started in 2014. NYPD data indicate that between January 1st and March 6 2022 car accident injuries increased by 12.1 % compared to the same period a year earlier. Since the beginning of the year, a total of 6,977 people were injured in car accidents. This indicate that every day, in average, 107 people are injured in NYC car accidents.

Continue reading →

Published on: March 8, 2022

Pedestrian killed in garbage truck accident at dangerous Brooklyn intersection

By GGCRBHS&M

A 62 year old man was killed in a garbage truck accident in Brooklyn, NYC, on Friday afternoon. The accident occurred around 3:30 pm in front of the Atlantic Terminal Mall near the Barclay Center. The pedestrian was crossing Flatbush Avenue at the intersection of Atlantic Avenue when he was struck by a commercial garbage truck belonging to the private hauler Safeway Services Corp. The 37 year old driver remained at the scene of the accident.

The pedestrian was struck a few feet away from the faded crosswalk and pictures from the accident scene on social media may indicate that the pedestrian was using a walker. It is not clear if the garbage was driving through the intersection and was on Flatbush Avenue with the light in his favor or if he made a right turn from Atlantic Avenue onto Flatbush and both pedestrians and turning traffic had the green light when the accident occurred. In that case the truck driver should have yielded to the pedestrian. It is not clear either if the garbage truck was equipped with guardrails. The law requires that all garbage trucks above 10,000 pounds be equipped with guardrails by 2024.

The intersection remains dangerous despite structural improvements in 2018

Continue reading →

Published on: February 23, 2022

Hit and run driver of a Rolls Royce who killed a beloved teacher in Brooklyn arrested

By GGCRBHS&M

Last May, a man behind the wheel of a Rolls Royce fatally struck a pedestrian crossing Bayard Street at the intersection of McGuiness Boulevard and sped away. The pedestrian was 58 year old Matthew Jensen. He was a beloved teacher at PS 110 and the Greenpoint community was very moved by his death. After the accident (see previous blog).

The negligent driver is a 30 year old FDNY EMT

The NYPD announced yesterday that they identified the hit-and-run driver as Tariq Witherspoon, a 30 year old FDNY EMT. They arrested him and charged him with speeding, reckless endangerment, leaving the scene of an accident and criminally negligent homicide.

Continue reading →

Published on: February 3, 2022

Another pedestrian killed by a reckless driver in Brooklyn

By GGCRBHS&M

A Brooklyn woman is the 12th pedestrian to die in a car accident in New York City since the beginning of this year. In a very graphic video the 64 year old pedestrian is seen walking West on the North sidewalk of Foster Avenue. As she arrives at the intersection of East 17th Avenue, she waits for the light to turn green and then proceeds to walk on the snowy street. At the same time, the driver of a grey Chevy makes a right turn from Foster onto 17th Street, does not yield or slows down and slams into the pedestrian.

The driver, a 57 year old woman, stayed at the scene of the accident and so far was not charged. The victim was rushed to the hospital where she died.

While the video clearly shows that the driver did not yield to the pedestrian, the snow that had not been proprely removed from the intersection made the area even more dangerous to navigate for pedestrians and vehicles.

Continue reading →