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.
3,665 people were injured and 18 people died in traffic accidents in New York City last month. This is the highest number of crash injuries and the second highest number of crash deaths recorded in the month of February over the last 4 years. Compared to February of last year the monthly number of people injured in a motor vehicle accident in NYC increased by 23% and the monthly number of people killed by 20%. Even though there are usually less traffic accidents in February than in any other months in New York City the increase of deaths an injuries recorded during the last month is of concern.
On January 11th, 63 year old Cindy Klump who managed the drawing Center at Pratt Institute, was trying to cross Myrtle Ave at Ryerson Street in Brooklyn, NYC. As she was crossing, she tripped and fell on the ground. She was getting back when up she was hit in the back by a a light colored minivan. John Cisneros, a Pratt student who witnessed the accident saw the van driver parking his vehicle 50 feet away and run to rescue the woman. Another woman who also witnessed the accident ran to the rescue. She had medical training and tended to Klump while Cisneros called 911.
The ambulance and the police showed up shortly after. One of the police officers, Officer Orlando Vargas, started to interview the woman who helped Klump. She pointed at the driver who was still around and pointed at his car and told the officer: “that’s the guy who hit her and that’s his car”. The driver denied it and said it was a car before him who struck the woman and ran away. Cisneros said he saw the driver flashing a badge to Officer Vargas. He then kept the badge on a chain around his neck and was let go by Officer Vargas.
A 34 year old mother and her 2 year old daughter suffered personal injury in a car accident in the Bronx, NYC. The accident was caused by a driver who was chased by the NYPD. The chase started after police officers saw a car speeding on on Nereid Ave in Woodlawn Heights. The driver of the car lost control of the vehicle near the Mount Vernon border and crashed into several parked cars on West 4th Street. The mother and her daughter were sitting in one of the cars when the crash happened. She and her daughter were injured and transported to the hospital. According to the NY Daily News, the mother suffered severe head trauma.
A young woman was seriously injured in a car accident in New York City early morning Saturday. As she went to help a drunk driving girlfriend in a disabled car, she ended plunging 30 feet off an highway overpass after being caught in a chain reaction accident. The accident happened as follows.
Around 5:00 am Saturday morning, 22 year old Samantha Maloney who was drunk driving, crashed her car into a concrete median on a Whitestone Expressway overpass near Grand Central Parkway in Flushing, Queens. The car was left disabled on the right shoulder. Instead of calling 911, Samantha called her girlfriend Victoria Garratt, also 22 years old, to the rescue. Victoria showed up a few minutes later at the scene of the accident. At the same time Christopher Pierce, an off-duty FDNY EMT who was driving by, stopped his car and offered assistance to the two young women. According to officials, Pierce parked his car “at an angle” in front of Samantha’s disabled car. As the three of them were waiting for “official” rescuers to arrive, a 38 year old off-duty NYPD lieutenant who was driving by tried to swerve to avoid them but instead he crashed into them. The impact was so strong that it sent Victoria flying over the highway overpass. She landed 30 feet on the road below. The young woman almost died in the accident. According to the Gothamist she was so badly injured that she may end up paralyzed for the rest of her life. Pierce was also injured in the car accident. His arm was broken. Samantha was not injured but she was arrested for drunk driving. If investigators determine that she caused her girlfriend’s injuries she may be charged with reckless endangerment. The 38 year old off-duty cop was tested for alcohol and had a 0.02 blood alcohol level which is well below the legal level of 0.08. Investigators will have to determine if he was driving at an appropriate speed.
A 14 year old boy suffered personal injury in a NYC car crash last Saturday. 14 year old Luiz Cruz stole a car with another teenager and went for a joy ride in Coney Island. The police spotted the car speeding on Surf Ave near West 23rd Street and began to chase them. The police tried to pull them over before the driver lost control of the vehicle and hit a cement median and several parked cars. The driver fled the scene of the accident leaving his friend injured on the passenger seat. The police are still looking for the driver.
A 70 year old man was critically injured by a speeding hit an run driver yesterday afternoon in Brooklyn, NYC. The man who was riding his electric scooter was in the crosswalk at the intersection of 25th Avenue and 85th Street when he was side-swiped by a speeding white SUV. The impact knocked the elderly man off of his scooter. Jennifer Fahmy, a teenaged pedestrian was standing nearby and witnessed the accident. She told NBC News that the driver almost hit her as well. As he was fleeing witnesses said he ran several red lights.
Jennifer immediately ran to the victim to assist him. She said that he was critically injured and was barely moving. She called 911.
The elderly man was rushed to the hospital in life threatening condition.
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.
After sustaining minor injury in a car accident, a 27 year old man died during surgery at a New York Hospital. This morning around 4:30 am Roy Webb, an employee for the catering hall Antuns in Quens Village, was driving a co-worker home. He was driving South on Laurelton Parkway when his lost control of his vehicle. He slammed into a guardrail near 130th Ave. The car caught fire and the passenger died at the scene of the accident. The passenger suffered such bad burns that an autopsy will be required to formally identify her. The driver suffered a broken neck and was transported to Jamaica Hospital. His girlfriend and his family said that he went for a first surgery and that he woke up fine and was expected to survive. He then went for a second surgery and died during the procedure. According to the NY Daily News, the hospital told the family that his pulse dropped and that was all they could do. The family suspects that the hospital committed medical malpractice.
A woman suffered critical personal injury after being hit by a car in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NYC early Saturday. The woman who was in her thirties was hailing a cab near Rodney Street and Metropolitan Avenue when she was hit by silver BMW. The driver sped off in the night leaving the woman agonizing in the street. The woman was transported to the hospital. She suffered serious head trauma and was listed in critical condition. The police are still looking for the driver and have released the below surveillance image of the car.
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.
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