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Articles Tagged with wrongful death NYC

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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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NYCHA Buildings2 baby girls died in an apartment fire in the Bronx, NYC yesterday. According to the NY Daily News, a pregnant mother left her two year old daughter and her 18 month old sister alone in her apartment while she was going to do the laundry at a nearby laundromat. She also left some incense burning in the house and may have disabled the smoke alarms. According to the New York Housing Authority who owns the building where the fire happened, the alarms were functioning five hours before the blaze.

A neighbor also told the Newspaper that the mother,  26 year old Haya Conce, was always burning incense by the window and she often left the kids alone in the apartment. She was warned that it was dangerous but she ignored the warnings. When the firefighters carried the dead bodies of her babies out of the building shes collapsed on the sidewalk. Firefighters said the dramatic accident may have been prevented if the fire alarms hadn’t been disabled.

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Coney Island HousesAn elevator mechanic died in an elevator accident in New York City on Friday. The accident happened at the Coney Island Houses in Brooklyn, a public housing development belonging to the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA).   54 year old Igor Begun, was working in the elevator machine room of the building located at 2926 W. 25th St when he was apparently electrocuted to death.

NYPD and NYCHA are still investigating the causes of the fatal accident. The report from the medical examiner will provide more explanation on the exact cause of the death.

Igor Begun was alone when the accident happened. Another elevator worker who was doing some maintenance work in the lobby found him unconscious in the elevator machine room. He was later pronounced dead.

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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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Fatal pedestrian accident locationLast week a pedestrian died in a hit an run accident at the intersection of 21st Street and 3oth Road in Astoria, Queens, NYC. We pointed out in a recent blog related to this accident that the intersection was very dangerous and had no crosswalk.  An article in DNA now indicates that 9 people were previously injured in car accidents. The article also mentions that Transportation Alternative had campaigned for the installation of stoplights at this location but that it was declined by the DOT.  After last week’s fatal accident, the DOT said it would reconsider its decision.  Read more in DNA

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Little Bay ParkA motorcyclist died after he apparently crashed his bike into a tree in Bay Side, Queens, NYC.  According to the the NY Daily News the motorcyclist was found dead on a path in Little Bay Park  by a passing bicyclist. His dirt bike landed several feet away on some rocks near the water. The man apparently lost control of his bike and hit a tree. The cyclist who found him told the News that the motorcyclist may have hurt himself after crashing on the rocks and then walked to the grass and laying on it before he died. Read more in the NY Daily News

 

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Prince_St_-_Google_MapsAnother pedestrian was killed in a car accident in NYC in the 109th precinct. According to Streetblog, this is the third pedestrian to die in this precinct since the beginning of the year. The accident happened Tuesday morning at the crossing of Prince Street and 35th Ave in Flushing, Queens. A 57 year old man who was crossing the street in the crosswalk was struck by a SUV driven by 55 year old Raymond Ortiz as he was making a left turn. Ortiz stayed at the scene of the accident and was charged with violation of the right of way law. The victim died at the hospital.

Earlier in the year, at the beginning of March, in the same precinct, 90 year old Dorothy Heiman was fatally struck by a car making a left turn.  The driver wasn’t charged. In January a pedestrian was  killed by a cement truck in the same precinct and the driver wasn’t charged either. In both cases police weren’t very cooperative in providing accurate information to determine if the pedestrian had the right of way.

Last year after several pedestrians were killed in the precinct, most of the time by negligent drivers, the police and the council members blamed the victims for their own deaths and lectured pedestrians on how to walk.

 

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every schoolThe installation of 140 speed cameras in NYC proved to be a successful way to reduce speeding in school zones and protect residents from fatal car accidents. Today State Sen. Jose Peralta and Assemblyman Michael DenDekker will propose to extend the installation of similar cameras to 2,000 school zones in New York City. The two democratic politicians from Queens are also proposing to have these cameras running 24 hours instead of only during school time as is the case now. Peralta and DenDekker also suggest that if a driver gets caught five times or more he or she should have his vehicle registration suspended.

The new bills introduced today by the two legislators are coming on the steps of a new Transportatrion Alternative campaign that requires the installation of speed camerat at #EverySchool

Read more in the NY Daily News

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Fatal pedestrian accident location

No pedestrian crossing at this intersection Picture: courtesy of Google map

A 45 year old man was fatally struck by a negligent driver who didn’t stop after he hit the victim. The car accident happened on 21st Street and 30th Road in Queens, NYC, yesterday around 11:00 pm. The man was transported to the hospital but he couldn’t be saved. The car that hit the pedestrian is believed to be a red Toyota. The police are looking for surveillance footage. The intersection is very dangerous because there is no pedestrian crossing even though it is located in a very busy area of Astoria. According to residents speeding is frequent.

Another accident happened a little bit later in the Bronx. A pedestrian suffered serious personal injury as he was trying to cross the Major Deegan Expressway near 138th in Port Morris shortly after 4:00 am. The victim was transported to the hospital while according to the NY Daily News a car was spotted at the scene of the accident with a smashed windshield and hood.