A 13 year old boy and a 62 year old man were crossing the intersection of Park Avenue and 57th Street in Midtown, Manhattan when a FreshDirect truck making a left turn struck them and dragged them under its wheels. The two pedestrians were in the crosswalk when the truck hit them. The driver told the police that he did not see them until he looked in his side mirror and saw one of them lying on the ground.
A doorman who was working in a nearby building ran to the rescue and told the NY Daily News that he arrived to a very bloody scene. The teenager had his face smashed and bones were protruding from his body. Both victims were rushed to the hospital in critical condition.
ANOTHER PEDESTRIAN CRITICALLY INURED BY A PICK UP TRUCK THE FOLLOWING DAY
Less that 24 hours later, also in Manhattan, another pedestrian was critically injured by a pick up truck making a left turn from Eighth Avenue onto 25th Street. The victim, a 91 year old man was crossing 25th Street, Thursday morning around 8:30 am when the truck struck him. As EMS arrived they found the elderly man lying unconscious on the ground with severe trauma to his head. The pick up truck driver, a 60 year old man, stayed at the scene of the accident and so far was not charged.
Two blocks away on 6th Avenue, Robyn Hightman, a 20 year old cyclist was killed in a hit and un truck accident in 2019 (see previous blog).
2021 has been extremely deadly for New York pedestrians, so far since the beginning of the year 59 of them died in crashes in New York. Compared to similar periods during the previous years, this is the highest number of pedestrian fatalities since Vision Zero started. (see our recent blog)