A 35 year old pedestrian died after being involved in a car accident as he was crossing Woodhaven Blvd at Jamaica Avenue in Queens, New York. The driver of the car left the scene of the accident without stopping. The police are looking for a white Honda sedan.
In a car crash, the probability of sustaining serious personal injury or to die is much higher for drivers and car occupants if they are older adults. The number of drivers above 65 years old increased by 20% in 10 years. During that same time, the proportion of older drivers involved in deadly car accidents increased by 15%. To curb this alarming situation the NHTSA announced a new 5-Year Traffic Safety Plan and Guidelines for Older Drivers and Passengers
A previous NHTSA analysis of the personal injuries sustained by 18,000 occupants involved in a car accident shows that drivers over 75 have a higher risk of suffering personal injury than younger drivers especially when it comes to head, chest and legs and foot injuries. Statistics also show a much higher number of head and chest injuries for older car occupants involved in a side impact accident.
Intersection accidents are the most common car accidents older drivers make. In the most common cases they don’t notice potential conflicts or traffic signs and signals.
Wrongful deaths and serious personal injuries related to traffic accidents are epidemic in New York. The newly appointed NYPD commissioner, Bill Bratton, promised that this situation would change.
In a speech Thursday Bratton said “It is ironic that even as the death totals have declined dramatically with violent crime in this city, this year the number of people killed on our streets – pedestrian and traffic — will almost equal the homicide total”.
Bratton said his priorities are to make the streets and the subways safer.
Personal injuries and wrongful deaths related to car accidents are much higher on Amsterdam Avenue in New York than on other northbound avenues on the Upper West Side according to CrashStat.Org. To protect pedestrians and bicyclists, yesterday night Community Board number 7 voted 35-0 with 5 abstentions for a resolution asking the Department of Transportation to perform a complete street study of Amsterdam Avenue with safer pedestrian crossings and a protected bike lane. (see StreetBlog.org)
Amsterdam Avenue is a four car lane avenue with synchronized lights. People driving in the city know that if they “time the lights right” they can go from 60th Street to 108th Street and hit a light just once “if they are lucky”. Therefore motorists tend to drive their car as if they were on a highway with little respect for the 30 mph speed limit. In a family friendly residential neighborhood such as the Upper West Side this situation is very unsafe and the CB7 vote indicates that locals want to change that.
Since 2008, New York City Department of Transportation has been developing a strategic plan called “Sustainable Streets” that encourages New York communities to redesign their streets to make them safer for pedestrians and bicyclists. In areas where streets have been redesigned, the number of injuries has declined and local businesses say their sales are up.
An alleged drunk driver killed a man and injured another in a car accident that happened early Saturday morning in Queens New York. A 23 year old driver crashed his car into another car driven by 39 year old Jimmy Sinisi. The impact was so strong that Sinisi was crushed in his car and died at the hospital. The passenger was injured but in stable condition. The 23 year old driver appeared to be drunk but he refused a Breathalyzer test. He was taken to the Hospital in critical condition where his blood was being drawn to test for alcohol.
Read more in the New York Daily News
In busy Midtown Manhattan, car accidents especially sidewalk jumping crashes have caused serious injuries and sometimes the death of innocent pedestrians and bicyclists. Last summer a British tourist lost a leg when a cab jumped the curb on 49th street and six ave. (see previous post).
A campaign led by “Transportation Alternatives” to improve walking and biking on Fifth and Sixth Ave has reached its first milestone with Community Board 5′s transportation committee advancing a resolution asking DOT for a complete streets study. The full board is expected to vote on December 12th.
Read more in StreetBlog.Org
The epidemic number of wrongful death related to pedestrians and bicyclists hit by vehicles reached a new high on Wednesday night as 4 people were killed in an half an hour time span in New York City. A man who was riding his bike in Queens died after being hit by a truck whose driver fled. A an 88-year-old woman crossing Ave. C in Manhattan was killed after being struck by a Con Ed truck and two women were killed when a car hit them as they crossed Forest Hill Road in Staten Island.
Read more in the New York Daily News
Brittany Lahm was held not liable for a car accident that killed one teen and injured several others in July 2008 while she was driving back from the beach with other teenager friends in the car. Brandon Berman, a 19 year old passenger, playfully untied her bikini top. She lost the control of the vehicle as she took her hands off the wheels to cover up. The car hit a guard rail and flipped killing Berman and injuring other passengers.
The Appellate Division citing The Emergency Doctrine held “that Brittany did not anticipate that Berman would suddenly pull the strings on her bikini top, thereby causing the top to fall and her breasts to be exposed” and that it constituted “a sudden and unforeseen emergency not of her own making.”
Read more in the New York Daily News
A defective suspension part in some Kia Sedona minivans can break and cause drivers to lose control of the vehicle.The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says the lower control arms near the wheels can rust and break due to salt exposure. To fix this issue, Kia motors announced today that it is recalling 80,000 Sedona minivans sold in the US between 2006 and 2012. The defective part will be inspected and fixed for free starting next month.
Read more here
Yasmelin Iglesias suffered severe head trauma after being struck by a van in the crosswalk at 48th St. and Sixth Ave in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, New York. The 16 year old girl is undergoing surgery. She is in critical condition. The police are still investigating why the 29 year old driver of the Van ran over her.
Read more in the New York Daily News
New York Personal Injury Attorneys Blog