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 Motorcycle Accident

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accident sceneA cyclist was fatally struck by a car  in the Bronx, NYC, last Friday night. The accident occurred around 11:22 pm  on Southern Boulevard, near the ramp of the Bronx River Parkway, in the Bronx Park. According to the police, the driver who was speeding was attempting to pass the cyclist but there was not enough space to do so and he struck the back wheel of the cyclist. The victim whose name was not released by the police, flew onto the windshield of the car, a 2019 Mercedes Benz Sedan, and then landed on the street. He died at the scene of the accident from severe body and head trauma.  The driver of the Mercedes abandoned his car on the side of the Boulevard and ran away on foot. The police are still looking for him. (read more in the Gothamist)

Less than 24 hours later, also in the Bronx, a man riding a e-scooter died after being struck by an Amazon Prime delivery van. The accident occurred in front of 1230 E. Tremont Avenue,  a little bit before 7:30 pm. Both the van and the e-scooter were travelling in the same direction when the van struck the scooter. The victim who was not identified, died at the scene of the accident. The driver of the van stayed at the scene of the accident and was not charged by the police. (Read more in the NY Post). 

In Brooklyn, a couple who was heading to work on a moped, were struck by a dump truck on Rogers Avenue near Bergen Street in Crown Heights. 36 year old Jose Garcia Cruz was taking his girlfriend, 25 year old Kristina Walker, to work when the accident occurred. The circumstances of the accidents are not exactly clear. CBS News indicates that the truck rear ended the moped while the police told the NY Daily News that the driver lost control of the moped when he tried to pass the dump truck. In NYC, the police have a habit of protecting the motorists and blaming the victims. (read more in the NY Daily News)

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15 pedestrians, 8 motorists and 4 passengers died in car accidents in New York City during the month of April reaching a total of 27 traffic fatalities. This is the highest number of motor vehicle accident fatalities in NYC ever recorded during the month of April since Vision Zero started in 2014. The lowest number of traffic fatalities in April was recorded last year with 11 deaths as New York was observing a lockdown because of the Covid19 pandemic. Prior to the lockdown, 16 people died in crashes in New York in April 19 and respectively 12, 20, 14, 19, 21, 15 in April 18, 17, 16, 15, 14 and 13. Globally traffic fatalities in New York City remain on a declining trend. However recent numbers have more often been above the trend rather than below. (click on the graph for full size)

Car Accident fatalities NYC April 21

Peak in Pedestrian Deaths

Pedestrians accounted for more than half of the deaths with 15 fatalities while motorist deaths slightly decreased compared to a year ago but remained high with 8 fatalities. No bicycle accident fatalities were reported to the NYPD in April. Such a high number of pedestrian fatalities at a time when tourists have not even come back to the city and a high number of New Yorkers are still working from home is alarming.

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the intersection where Lisa Bane was killed10 days ago Lisa Banes was crossing the street when she was struck by a reckless scooter operator who ran a red light, hit her and just kept going. The impact was so intense that Banes was knocked out of the crosswalk. She suffered critical  head injuries and was rushed to Mount Sinai Morningside Hospital where she passed away yesterday afternoon.

The accident occurred at the  intersection of West 64th Street and Amsterdam Ave on Friday June 4th around 6:30 pm. The actress was on her way to a dinner with friends and had planned to stop at Julliard and at the Lincoln Center on the way. She was in the crosswalk with the light in her favor when the reckless scooter driver mowed her down.

Lisa Banes, an acclaimed Hollywood actress who starred in the movies “Cocktail” and “Gone Girl” and also appeared in multiple TV shows such as “Nashville,” “The Orville,” “Masters of Sex,” and “Royal Pains, was in Manhattan for a performance at the Manhattan Theater Club. The 66 year old woman is married to Kathryn Kranhold

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accident sceneIn less than 8 hours, 2 people were injured and 2 people died in car crashes in New York City.

A pedestrian was killed and another one was seriously injured in a car accident early Monday morning

The two men in their 40ies were crossing the street mid-block near Rockaway Boulevard and Woodhaven Boulevard  in Ozone Park, Queens, around 12:30 am on Monday when they got struck by a car. They were both transported to the hospital. One of them died and the other one is clinging to life. The victim who passed away was identified as Marcelo Pelaez. The 30 year old driver of the car and his pregnant wife who was sitting in the passenger seat were not injured. They stayed at the scene of the accident. The driver was not charged. (Read more in the NY Daily News)

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unprotected bike lane on 35th StreetA 37 year-old delivery man was killed and several other people were injured in a reckless car crash in Queens, NYC. The accident took place last Thursday night around 6:00 pm. A 60 year-old woman driving a 2013 Merccedez-Benz C-300 who was driving behind a slow-moving vehicle lost patience and decided to use the bike lane to pass the vehicle. She struck two parked cars and  37 year old Xing Long Lin, a delivery man on a scooter, who got trapped and dragged under the car as the driver continued to drive and crashed into the outdoor setting of Rosatoro Restaurant located at the corner of 35th Street and Ditmars Boulevard in Astoria, Queens. After the car crashed into the outdoor setting, it jumped the curb, knocked down a tree and ended in the front window of the restaurant.

Xing Long Lin died in the accident. The delivery worker  came to US from China 14 years ago and lived with his wife and his two children 5 and 9 year old  in Elmhurst. He was the sole provider for his family and was also taking car of his mother in China.

Among those injured was a 32 year-old woman who was sitting in the restaurant and who sustained injuries to her leg after glass and debris went flying into the dining areas. She was transported to the hospital to be treated.

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Pedestrian and cyclist injuries and fatalities were lower than usual last February and so were motorcyclist, bus and truck accidents.

Traffic Accident injuries reached a record low in New York City in January and February. While February car accident injuries always reach a yearly low, the number of NYC car accident injuries was at its lowest since Vision Zero started. 2,503 people were injured in traffic accidents in New York City compared to 3,028 a month earlier and 4,006 in February 2020. The number of traffic accident injuries mostly dropped over the last 12 months because of the Covid19 crisis that affected the City and slow down activities. (click on graphs for full sizes)

Traffic Accident Injuries NYC February 2021
Motor vehicle accident injuries in NYC in February 2021 by category
After reaching annual record highs over the summer of 2020, the number of New York auto accident deaths also declined and stabilized to numbers somewhat similar to previous years despite the slowdown. 10 people died in traffic accidents last February compared to 13 in January and 17 in February 2020.  Since Vision Zero was launched in 2014, the number of traffic accident fatalities in February has been oscillating between 17 and 10 with 10 last month being the lowest. Fatalities were mostly pedestrian fatalities.

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No turn for trucks signalA delivery worker on a moped was killed in a truck accident in Queens, NYC  . The accident occurred last Thursday around 8:30 am at the intersection of Astoria Boulevard and Crescent Street.  The driver of a Bud Light delivery truck made a right turn from Astoria Boulevard onto Crescent Street and struck 35 year old, Alfredo Cabrea Licona, a delivery worker riding a red scooter. Alfredo skidded beneath the tractor trailer and it took 10 minutes for  the emergency team to extricate him from under the truck. He was rushed to the hospital with critical injuries and died shortly after his admission to the hospital. Alfredo left behind a wife and two children living in Mexico depending fully on his financial support. He spent 11 years working in the city and was planning his return to Mexico for the end of the year. People who knew him said he was a good and honest man who was working hard to take care of his family.

The accident was preventable

The truck driver stayed at the scene of the accident and so far was not charged. At the time of the accident, the truck made a right turn onto Crescent Street despite a signal forbidding trucks to turn on the street except for local delivery (see picture). There are only residences and a church on the segment of Crescent Street where the truck made a turn, therefore the turn was probably illegal.  Additionally while making the turn onto Crescent street the truck went over the “supposedly” protected bike lane. For months before the accident, street safety activists have been asking the Department of Transportation to adequately protect the two way bike lanes on Crescent Street because trucks and cars would constantly interfere with cyclists. The bike lane is only protected by “flex declineators which flex down to the ground when cars drive over them and as a result do not offer real protection to bike lane users.`

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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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Auto Accident NYC Injuries Deaths June 2020During the Covid-19 lock-down, NYC car accident deaths and motorcyclist deaths related to reckless behavior, mostly speeding, increased. City officials were expecting fatalities to go down as the city was getting more active again but statistics show that instead traffic accident fatalities surged after the lock-down.

As a result the DOT announced yesterday that it was lowering the city speed limit from 30 mph to 25 mph on the most dangerous roads of the 5 New York City boroughs on:

  • Riverside  Drive from 165th street to 181st street in Manhattan
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Revel-scaledA man was killed in a Revel moped accident in New York yesterday. The 32 year old man identified by the police as Jeremy Malave was riding  the rented Revel north on Woodhaven Boulevard, Queens, when he lost control of the moped and struck a light pole near 67th Drive. The accident occurred around 3:15 am. EMS found Malave lying on the ground with a massive head injury. He was rushed to the hospital but he didn’t survive. The helmet was found on the ground nearby but it was not clear if Malave was wearing it at the time of the accident. (read more in the NY Daily News)

26 year old Revel passenger killed after driver lost control of the scooter

On Saturday July 18th, CBS 2 NY reporter Nina Kapur also died in a Revel accident. 26 year old Kapur was riding a Revel moped as a passenger in Brooklyn when the driver of the scooter suddenly swerved throwing Kapur onto the roadway.  The young woman suferd critical injuries and was rushed to the hospital where she later died. The driver of the Revel, a 26 year old man, suffered minor injuries. According to a witness, neither of them were wearing a helmet. (read more in the Daily News)