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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A 21 year old man died and several other people were injured in a car accident in NYC last Saturday night.

Around 8:30 pm, 37 year old Terrance Smith was driving his car on Powell Street in Brooklyn, NYC. He was speeding while at the same time arguing with his passenger.  As he approached the intersection of Glenmore Ave in Brownsville he hit 21 year old Michael Joefield who was rollerblading in the street.  The impact of the accident was so violent that the roller-blades were ejected from Michael’s feet and flew into the window of a nearby van.

Michael’s body got stuck under Terrance’s car but he didn’t stop. He continued on his way dragging the body under his car and slamming into two others vehicles and into a stop sign.

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accident sceneA pedestrian was critically injured after an out of control SUV jumped the curb last Friday afternoon in Queens, NYC. The driver of the SUV was an elderly man who just came out of an appointment at a radiology center on Steinway Street in Astoria. His SUV was parked in front of the radiology center. As he was pulling out of the parking space, the driver suddenly accelerated. He mounted the sidewalk, hit the pedestrian violently and crashed into the wall of the radiology center. When the doctor came out he recognized his patient. The patient told the doctor that the accelerator pedal got stuck on the floorboard. The pedestrian was critically injured and was bleeding from the head. The driver also suffered serious injury. They were both transported to the hospital.

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Are cell phones and other electronic equipment to blame for the recent spike in pedestrian deaths all over America?

GHSA-Pedestrian-3According to a report prepared by by Richard Retting of Sam Schwartz Transportation Consultants for the Governors Highway Safety Association, projected pedestrian traffic fatalities in the US for 2016 increased by 11% compared to 2015 and by 22% compared to 2014.  This is the biggest increase in pedestrian fatalities in 40 years since national statistics started to be recorded. The second biggest increase was recorded in 2015.

Pedestrian deaths represented 11% of all traffic accident deaths in 2006. They now represent 15% of them.

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An 87 year old pedestrian who was hit by a SUV in New York a few weeks ago died from his injuries yesterday according to the police. The man was crossing Grand Street in the Lower East Side around 6:40 pm on March 7th when he was hit by a SUV.  The pedestrian was first hit by the front bumper. He then slammed into the windshield and collapsed. He was rushed to the hospital where he died from his injuries 20 days later. Read more in the NY Daily News 

During the winter months when the sun goes down around 4:30 pm in New York, statistics show an increase of 40%  in pedestrian fatalities. Pedestrians killed are mostly seniors. In an effort to reduce these fatalities, Vision Zero launched the Dusk and Darkness Safety initiative last November.  Over the 3-month period of November 2016, December 2016 and January 2017, 39 pedestrians died in car accidents, compared to 46 for the same period a year earlier, 28 for the same period two years earlier and 54 for the same period three years earlier just before the launch of Vision Zero.

If we compare the recent numbers to a year before, statistics show a decline. However if we compare the same numbers to two years before, the number of fatalities increased despite the Dusk & Darkness Safety Initiative. Too many elderly pedestrians are still dying in traffic accidents and more needs to be done to protect them.

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NYPD logoGiovanni Nin died in a bicycle accident in NYC last June in the Bronx, NYC. The driver who hit him fled the scene of the accident. 11 months later the police arrested him. On June 11 2016, Giovanni was heading for a nap at his girlfriend’s between two shifts at Fedex.  It was around midnight. As he was riding his bike on East Tremont Avenue he was hit by a BMW SUV. The driver left him dying on the street. The police identified the car but the car owner, 44 year old Victor Pelaez declared his car stolen. He told the police he wasn’t behind the wheel during the accident. However cell phone records showed that Pelaez was near the scene of the accident when it occurred. Pelaez was also seen by an NYPD detective driving the supposedly stolen car on August 10. He was arrested last week and charged with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death. Read more in the Gothamist

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accident scene1 person died and two people were injured in a truck accident in New York early Monday morning.  Around 2:20 am, 23 year old Sandhu Simranjeet Singh from Durham, NC was driving a tractor-trailer, heading west on the Cross Bronx Expressway. As he was near the George Washington Bridge he lost control of his truck and slammed into a car. He then fled the scene of the accident leaving behind him 3 critically injured people. The reckless drunk truck driver was later caught by the police near the Vince Lombardi Rest Stop. He was arrested and charged with drunk driving.  The 3 occupants of the car had to be pulled out of the mangled vehicle by the emergency responders. They were transported to the hospital. The driver, 25 year old Caeser Contreras, didn’t make it and was pronounced dead at the hospital. The two other passengers who were 28 and 39 years old were in critical condition.

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A pedestrian was hit by a SUV last night on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. The accident occurred around 9:10 p.m.  A 37 year old woman was crossing the intersection of E. 86th Street and York Ave. According to the police, she was 10 feet away from the crosswalk when a SUV hit her.  The pedestrian suffered leg and head trauma. A witness reported that she was bleeding extensively. She was transported to the hospital in critical condition but she is expected to survive.  The driver, a 56 year old man stayed at the scene of the accident. Read more in the NY Daily News

The winter months are usually the most dangerous months for pedestrians. Since last October more than 1,000 pedestrians were injured every month in motor vehicle accidents in New York City. According to the most recent statistics released by the NYPD, the number of pedestrians injured in car accidents in NYC last January was 1,083. This is the highest number of pedestrian injuries for a month of January since Vision Zero started in 2014. Before Vision Zero started, there were 1,107 pedestrians injured in January 2013.

Pedestrians injured in a vehicle accident in NYC by month with trendline and 3-month moving average

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There were less auto accidents in New York City in January 2017 (17,126) than in January 2016 (17,798) but more than in 2014 (15,977) and 2015 (16,597).  Over the years we can observe in the graph below that there are usually less crashes in NYC in January and in February.  These are the months where  traffic accidents are at their lowest of the year in the city. It is a seasonal phenomenon. After the  busy “holiday” months of November and December, January and February are usually slower and colder most probably resulting in less traffic in the city. However, despite the drop in last January, the total number of traffic accidents in the city is still on a rising trend. (click on graph to see full size).

Traffic Accidents in NYC by Month with Trendline
4,383 people were injured in NYC traffic accidents last January compared to 3,624 in January 2016 and respectively 3,449, 3,899 and 3,993 in January, 2015, 2014 and 2013. As mentioned before, the seasonal factor explains the drop of  auto accident injuries in January and February. However despite being much lower than in December, it is the first time that the number of people injured in NYC motor vehicle accidents in January is above 4,000.

Traffic Accident Injuries in NYC by Month with Trendline
The number of injuries are on the rise among all road users category.  There were 21% more drivers, 22 % more passengers, 9% more cyclists and 20% more pedestrians injured    in January 2017 than in January 2016.

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A NYC drunk driver killed his passenger after he crashed into a divider. The fatal car accident took place on the Williamsburg bridge Thursday around 3:30 am. That night, Amanda Miner was celebrating her 21st  birthday. She was driving back home with her two friends, both NYPD traffic enforcement agents. Stefan Hoyte was driving the car and his friend was in the front seat. Amanda was seating in the back. Hoyte was in the middle of the bridge when he lost control of his vehicle and crashed into the divider. The impact was so strong that the car split in two and Amanda was thrown from the vehicle. She died at the scene of the accident. The two men suffered minor injuries. The driver was taken into custody. He was charged with driving while intoxicated, vehicular manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide.

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accident sceneA man who crashed his car in NYC disappeared from the accident scene leaving behind his brother who was critically injured. 21 year old Aidan Cammacho was speeding on Atlantic Ave in Queens, NYC, this morning around 4:15 am  when he lost control of his vehicle. His brother, Angel Camacho from Pennsylvania was in the passenger seat when the accident happened. He was seriously injured after Aidan jumped the curb and crashed his car against a parked car and a tree. The impact was so violent that the front of the car was completely destroyed. While his brother was stuck in the car almost dying, Aidan Camacho hailed a passing car who gave him a ride to Interfaith Medical Center. When the police arrived at the medical center he had already taken off.  His brother was extricated from the car by the EMS and transported to the hospital. The police are still looking for Aidan.

Read more in the NY Daily News