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.

Articles Posted in Auto Accidents

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location of the crashA mother of six children suffered life threatening injuries in a car accident in New York City early Tuesday morning. The accident occurred a little bit after midnight. The 32 year old victim identified as Malka Braver was riding in the back of a Honda Accord driven by a Lyft driver. As their car was crossing the intersection of Dekalb Avenue and Bedford Avenue (see Google map picture on the left) with the light in their favor, a reckless driver speeding down Dekalb Avenue in a Dodge Charger blew the red light and T-boned the back of the Lyft car. The impact was so intense that the victim got ejected from the Honda which spun around, crashed into another parked vehicle and jumped the curb to finally stop right in front a the entrance of a deli. The victim was rushed to the hospital where she is still fighting for her life. The Lyft driver and the Charger driver both suffered minor injuries and were also transported to the hospital according to the police. The driver of the Dodge Charger was identified as 22 year old Ryan Ortiz from Middletown, NY.  The car driven by Ortiz was a souped-up dodge charger with vanity plates “SCR3AM” and a wrap-around design from the horror movie Scream. Videos of the car performing donuts in the Kings Plaza Shopping Center parking lot a few hours before the accident were found on social media. Ortiz was not arrested and the investigation is ongoing. Read more in the Gothamist  .

One day earlier another young driver killed his passenger and almost killed himself in reckless Queens crash

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After reaching a record high in September, NYC auto accident fatalities remained high with 12 pedestrians, 1 cyclist, 4 passengers and 7 drivers killed in auto accidents in October compared to respectively 13 pedestrians, 6 bicyclists, 2 passengers and 14 drivers last September and 9 pedestrians, 3 cyclists, 1 passengers and 5 drivers in October 2019 (click on graphs for full format)

After remaining below 20 for the last 4 years, motor vehicle accident fatalities for the month of October  are back to pre Vision Zero levels with a total of 24 people killed on NYC streets.

Auto accident deaths NYC October 2020
While the number of traffic deaths was higher, the number of people injured in car accidents in New York City was at the lowest level for for the 8 years under review in the graph below. A total of 4,235 people sustained injuries in traffic accidents in the city compared to respectively 5,204, 5,498, 5,450, 5,083, 4,851, 4,692 and 4,830 in October 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014 and 2013.

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Facebook pic of the victimA man speeding and under the influence of alcohol or drugs crashed into the car of a hospital worker on his way to work and killed him.

Daniel Crawford, a phlebotomist at Queens Hospital Center was on his way to work last Friday morning around 4:00 am. He was driving his Toyota through the green light at the intersection of  Parsons Boulevard and Union Turnpike in Jamaica, Queens, when he was T-boned by a Mercedes Benz driven by 22 year old Alamin Ahmed.  Crawford was rushed to the hospital where he usually goes to work but he could not be saved.

A dad, a frontline worker and a future nurse

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location of the bike collision
A New York cyclist who was struck by a car died from his injuries one week after the accident occurred. On Saturday November 7th around 1:00 am , Juan Tiu-Caxaj was riding his bicycle on Autumn Avenue. As he crossed Fulton Street he collided with a car heading westbound on Fulton Street. The driver stayed at the scene of the accident. He was not charged. The young victim suffered head trauma and was transported to the hospital. His condition was stable but  it deteriorated and he died from his injuries a week later.

According to the police, the cyclist rode through a stop sign just before the collision.  The investigation is still ongoing to find out the exact cause of the accident.

According to Vision Zero studies, East New York is among the most dangerous areas in New York for bicyclists. However so far not much has been done in this neighborhood to promote bicyclists safety compared to other areas of New York City like Manhattan.

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location of the deadly tractor trailer accidentA 71 year old pedestrian was fatally struck by a tractor-trailer in the Bronx, NYC, just one one week after a cyclist was killed by a big rig in the same borough. The victim was crossing the dangerous intersection of East 38th Street and Exterior Street around 4:00 pm yesterday when a MAC tractor-trailer truck travelling South hit the pedestrian and fled the scene of the accident leaving behind him the victim dying on the ground.  The NYPD was alerted by a 911 call of  and when they arrived at the scene of the accident, they found the man lying on the street, unconscious and with severe head trauma. The senior pedestrian was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead. The police are still looking for the truck which had a white rig and a red trailer and the truck driver.

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location of the fatal moped accidentA man riding a moped was fatally struck by a reckless driver in the Bronx, NYC.

Early Sunday, around 12:30 am, 57 year old Frank Davila was riding a moped South on Rosedale Avenue when he was struck by 33 year old Stephanie Mendez who was driving a 2005 Grey Volvo Sedan.  At the time of the accident Mendez was driving with a suspended license.  The police checked her blood alcohol which registered 0.074 which is below the legally drunk level. Despite a blood test below the legal level, the police charged her with driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs and driving with a suspended license. The investigation is not over yet though but so far Mendez has not been charged with criminally negligent homicide or vehicular manslaughter.

Paramedics found Davila unresponsive and unconscious on the sidewalk. They rushed him to the hospital but it was too late and the 59 year old father was pronounced dead.

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location of the e-bike colision with SUVA driver fatally struck an e-bike rider in New York and then fled the scene of the accident. 42 year old Ernesto Guzman of East Harlem was delivering a pizza on his e-bike yesterday around 4:30 pm when a black Chevrolet Tahoe SUV with TLC plates crashed into him. The driver then left, leaving the man dying on the street. The accident occurred in East Harlem at the intersection of E. 97th Street and Second Avenue. The Police found the vehicle abandoned by the driver on E. 96th Street. They are still looking for the runaway driver. The victim had delivery bags with him and a witness at a nearby Deli told the NY Daily News that they flew 3 feet away during the collision.  The witness also mentioned that the victim was badly injured with a lot of blood coming out of his head.

When EMS and the police arrived, they transported the victim to a hospital emergency room which was just yards away from the scene of the accident but it was too late. Ernesto Guzman was so badly injured that he passed away.

The police are still investigating the accident. According to preliminary investigation, the e-bike rider was driving south on Second Ave when he was hit by the SUV driving  West on 97th Street.

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teen driverThis week is National Teen Driver Safety Week. For the 13th consecutive year, the National Highway Traffic Administration is organizing a one week campaign to raise awareness  and seek solutions to prevent and reduce teen drivers fatalities and injuries.

Car accidents are the leading cause of fatality for teenagers in New York and in the US

In New York State, every day, 10 people are injured or killed in an accident caused by a teen driver.  Unsafe speed accounts for 21% of these accidents, driver inexperience for 8%, failure to yield right of way for 6%, driver distraction for 4% and alcohol for 1%.  Male teen drivers have a higher risk of causing an accident than female teen drivers. Drivers with only a few months of experience driving alone are also at high risk of causing a crash as well as teen driver driving with other teens on board. In New York State, teen drivers are at fault in almost 80% of the car crashes resulting in incapacitating and fatal injuries.

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A moped rider and 2 pedestrians were struck by cars in New York City in less than 24h.

In the first accident a driver hit a 94 year old man in a motorized wheelchair. The accident occurred yesterday afternoon on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. The elderly man was crossing 5th Ave at the intersection of 95th street. He was in the crosswalk when a 32 year old driver struck him. The victim was critically injured and was rushed to the hospital. He is now in stable condition according to the NY Daily News.   The driver stayed at the scene of the accident and wasn’t charged as police indicated that it was not clear who had the right of way.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6In0OUvQm8

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While injuries declined, a surge in New York traffic fatalities for all categories of road users – pedestrians, cyclists, motorists and passengers – was recorded during the third trimester of 2020 compared to the same period of previous years.  77 people died in motor vehicle accidents this summer compared to respectively, 56, 59, 65, 61, 60, 76 and 82 in 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014 and 2013. This recent data brings the number of traffic fatalities in the city to its highest since the beginning of Vision Zero and very close to pre-Vision Zero levels. The rising number of traffic deaths occurred in a city that had far less people living in it than usual as many New Yorkers took off for the summer and most foreign tourists were unable to enter the US because of the Covid-19 restrictions. Speeding is  a factor in many of these fatalities. Street safety advocates are also pointing the finger at Mayor de Blasio who decline to listen and apply the recommendations of his COVID-19 transportation recovery panel.

Traffic fatalities NYC third quarter 2020
The number of motorist deaths was at its highest since the beginning of Vision Zero in 2014. 31 motorists died in New York City during the third quarter of 2020 compared to respectively, 21, 26, 22, 13, 16, 21 and 36 during the third quarter of 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014 and 2013.  Motorist fatalities which were still on a declining trend during the third quarter of 2019 are now on a perfectly flat trend.

Motorist Deaths NYC Third Quarter 2020
Despite more than doubling – from 4 to 9 – between the third quarter of 2019 and the third quarter of 2020, the number of passenger deaths recorded during the third quarter of 2020 remains on a slightly declining trend when looking at the entire Vision Zero period.