Two 19 year old Colgate University students were killed in a plane crash yesterday afternoon in Morrisville, NY. Ryan Adams and Cathryn (Carey) Depuy , both Ridgefield natives. The pair took off from Morrisville airport and flew 10 miles before crashing in a wooded area. They were killed instantly. Read more in the NY Daily News
22 year old Jefrrey Divine of Stormville died in a motorcycle accident, early Sunday morning in Putnam Valley, NY. The motorcyclist was riding North on the Taconic State Parkway when he collided with a SUV Subaru driving in the wrong way around 3.35 am on Sunday. According to the preliminary investigation, 40 year old Melida Espinal drove her SUV south in the northbound lanes after entering the roadway at Peekskill Hollow Road before crashing head-on with the motorcyclist. Espinal and two other occupants from the car only suffered minor injuries.
Read more in the Lohud,
Picture: Facebook
4 women are dead and 4 others are still in the hospital after being injured in a collision during which a pick up truck collided with their limo. The 8 friends were having a bachelorette party and had hired a limo to visit distilleries and vineyards from the North Folk Region. The limo was leaving Vineyard 48 winery in Cutchogue, Long Island, NY and was making a U turn when a pick up truck crashed into it. The collision was so violent that that the limo was almost sliced in half. Brittney Schulman, 23, and Lauren Baruch, 24, both of Smithtown; Stephanie Belli, 23, of Kings Park, and Amy Grabina, 23, of Commack all died in the accident. Joelle Dimonte, 25, of Elwood, L.I.; Melissa Angela Crai, 23, of Scarsdale, Westchester County; Alicia Arundel, 24, of Setauket, L.I., and Olga Lipets, 24, of Brooklyn, were all treated at local hospitals and survived. Both drivers were also injured and hospitalized. Steve Romeo, the driver of the pick up truck was charged with misdemeanor DWI. He pleaded not guilty. Read more in the NY Daily News
3 people died in a car accident in Long island, NY, early morning on Monday. The Ostanes, a Queens family from Haiti, were coming back from a gathering with relatives when a drunk driver who was also speeding crashed into their car. As the car burst into flames, Lucnie Bouaz-Ostane, the 35 year old mother who was in the passenger seat was able to escape. She tried to rescue the rest of the family but was unable to open the doors. Her husband, Ancio Ostane, 37, her daughter Sephora, 4, and her son, Andy, 8, all died in the accident. The drunk driver fled but the police were able to apprehend him. 24 year old O’Neil Sharp was arrested and charged with DWI and leaving the scene of an accident. Sharp pleaded not guilty and Today authorities said a second man was arrested and awaiting arraignment. 23 year old Demetri Stewart was charged with leaving the scene of a death, fourth-degree criminal facilitation and third-degree hindering prosecution. Stewart apparently was riding another car just behind Sharpe when the accident happened. Read more in the NY Daily News
The Merrill’s Law or “safe distance” Law was created after Merrill Cassell, a devoted cyclist, died in a bicycle accident during which he was struck by a bus that sideswiped him as he rode his bike along Route 119 in Greenburg (see video below).
The Law was enacted 5 years ago but very few tickets have been written under the Law.
In a recent article in the Lohud, Theresa Juva-Brown explains why this law offers little protection to cyclists.Read the article here.
New York Personal Injury Attorneys Blog