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 Pedestrian Accidents

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accident sceneA pedestrian was killed by a van driver who had previously crashed into his car in a supermarket parking lot in New York City. The 65 year old victim was coming out of Costco on Second Ave and 37th Street in Sunny Park, Brooklyn when he saw a commercial van striking his car and driving off. The victim jumped in his car and started chasing the van.  He followed the van up to Third Ave and 65th Street in Bay Ridge.  At this point he got out of his car and walked to the van to confront the driver. The 55 year old van driver struck him, ran over him and dragged him over two blocks. Witnesses in the street were screaming at the van driver to stop. He was stopped by another motorist who also witnessed the scene and drove his car in front of the van to stop him.  The firefighters had to lift the van to remove the victim who was rushed to the hospital. Unfortunately he couldn’t be saved. The van driver was taken into police custody.

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accident sceneA pedestrian was seriously injured in a car accident in New York City. Lisa Bergen, a 50 year old NYPD detective was crossing the street with her partner when a minivan struck her.  The accident occurred  on Richmond Ave near Akron St. in Bulls Head, Saten Island on Sunday a little before 9:00 pm. The minivan was speeding and the 31 year-old driver hit the detective so hard that her body flipped several time in the air before landing with a loud sound. The detective was rushed to the hospital with a fractured skull. The driver stayed at the scene of the accident but wasn’t arrested. So far she hasn’t been charged. Detective Bergen who is assigned  to the 121st precinct squad was on the job at the time of the accident.

Read more in the NY Daily News

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Since Vision Zero started in 2014 fewer people are dying in traffic accidents in New York City but more and more are getting injured. Vision Zero initiatives  helped decrease the number of pedestrian deaths and injuries however the number of motorists injured in car accidents in the city increased at an alarming rate over the last 3 years.

5,163 people suffered personal injury in motor vehicle accidents in New York City last August compared to respectively 5,383,  4,737, 4,445, 4,007 and 4,846 in August 2016, 2015, 2014 and 2013.  Since the month of May the monthly number of people injured in traffic accidents stayed above 5,000.  The same occurred last summer as well.

Injuries and deaths related to traffic accidents in NYC
Despite a decrease in both pedestrian and bicycle accident injuries over the last 3 years the total number of motor vehicle accident injuries continued to grow mostly due to a steady increase of motorist injuries over the last 3 years.

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accident sceneA pedestrian suffered critical injury after he was struck by a motorcycle in NYC yesterday. The accident occurred at the intersection of Pennsylvania Ave and Fulton Street near Highland Park in Brooklyn, NYC. A surveillance video from a nearby car wash shows the pedestrian waiting at the red light while a few cars are passing by and then starting to walk in the cross walk as the light was still red. Seconds later the pedestrian gets hit by a motorcyclist speeding North on Pennsylvania Ave.  The 28-year-old pedestrian flew in the air while the motorcyclist fell off his bike. Both were transported to a nearby hospital. The pedestrian is still fighting for his life while the motorcyclist  is in stable condition.

Read more ans see video in the NY Daily News

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accident sceneA pedestrian in a wheelchair was seriously injured after being hit by a cab in New York. The elderly man whose identity wasn’t revealed was in a motorized wheelchair on Park Ave near 86th street when the taxi struck him. The accident occurred yesterday afternoon around 2 pm. The cab driver stayed at the scene of the accident. The NY Daily News indicates that he was taken into custody for a charge not related to the accident.

Over the summer several accidents involving yellow cabs occurred on the Upper East Side. On September 14th a woman died after being hit by two consecutive yellow cabs on Lexington between 68th and 69th street (see previous blog). In August, a family who was brunching at the corner of 85th and Second Ave was almost killed after two cabs collided (see previous blog).  In July, 80 year old Barbara Horn was killed by a yellow taxi while she was in the crosswalk. The taxi was making a left turn from third Ave onto 70th street (see previous blog).

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location of Bronx fatal truck accident

A pedestrian was fatally hit by a box truck in New York City yesterday morning. The 60 year old man was crossing the intersection of Webster Avenue and East 193rd Street around 7:12 am when he was struck by a box truck. According to the police, the truck driver was waiting for the light at the intersection. When the light turned green he accelerated and fatally hit the pedestrian. He remained at the scene of the accident and wasn’t arrested. The pedestrian died at the scene of the accident. The police are still investigating.

The intersection is very large and very dangerous with a history of accidents. According to the Vision Zero map, since 2009, 6 pedestrians, 3 cyclists and 26 motorists were injured in accidents at this spot.  In 2009, 1 pedestrian, 1 cyclists and 4 motorists were injured in accidents at this location. In 2010, another pedestrian was injured. In 2011, 9 motorists, 1 cyclist and 2 pedestrians suffered personal injury at this dangerous intersection. In 2012, again 2 pedestrians, 1 cyclist and 2 motorists were injured. In 2014, 2 motorists were injured. Another motorist and a pedestrian were injured in 2015. Last year an additional pedestrian was hurt as well as 3 motorists. So far this year 5 motorists were injured in crashes at this particular location.

Picture: Google Maps

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6 people were injured including 3 seriously in a car accident in Staten Island, NYC on Sunday. A 74 year old driver who was backing out of a parking spot in front of a laundromat, hit the gas instead of the brake and reared back at full speed in the busy laundromat. The storefront was completely destroyed and damages are estimated to be above $20,000. 8 customers were inside the laundromat at the time of the accident. 6 of them were hurt including a pregnant woman who complained she couldn’t feel her legs anymore. She was in a lot of pain according to witnesses. Some of the customers were directly hit by the car and others by the folding tables that came crashing against the washing machines and dryers. The accident was extremely scary.  According to the owner of the laundromat it is not the first time that a car crashed into the storefront. Another car crashed into the laundromat last year according to the owner. See video of the accident below and read more in the Gothamist

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accident sceneA 6 year old pedestrian was seriously injured in a car accident in Brooklyn, NYC. Haroon Ali Khan was chasing a basketball when he was hit by a car on East 33rd Street near Filmore Ave. He was rushed to the hospital in critical but stable condition. The driver of the car stayed at the scene of the accident and wasn’t charged.  (Read more in the NY Daily News)

Later on Friday, another pedestrian was fatally hit by a tractor trailer truck. The truck accident occurred on the Clearview Expressway near 46th Ave in Auburndale, Queens, NYC. The pedestrian was trying to cross the busy highway when the accident occurred. The truck driver tried to swerve to avoid the pedestrian but he couldn’t avoid him. The pedestrian was rushed to the hospital but he couldn’t be saved. The truck driver stopped and remained at the scene of the accident. He wasn’t charged. (Read more in the NY Daily News)

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96 people died and 27,923 suffered personal injuries in 110,992 motor vehicle accidents in New York City during the first 6 months of 2017 based on the most recent statistics released by the NYPD.

This is the first time that the number of people dying in NYC traffic accidents during the first six months of the year is below 100.  In 2013, before Mayor de Blasio launched Vision Zero, 121 people died in auto accidents in the city during the same period. Vision Zero was launched at the beginning of 2014 and since then the total number of people dying in NYC crashes slowly decreased from 110 during the first semester of 2014 to 107 during the first semester of 2015 and the first semester of 2016. It dropped to 96 for the same period of 2017. Multiple Vision Zero measures such as the reduction of the city speed limit to 25 mph as well as the installation of cameras may have contributed to this decline in fatal crashes.

traffic accident deaths in NYC for the first semester of 2013 to 2017
The decrease in traffic deaths in New York City occurred despite a significant increase in crashes over the last 4 years. In 2013, 99,474 crashes were reported to the NYPD during the first semester. This number increased steadily to 100,834 in 2014 and 104,636 in 2015. It then jumped to 111,588 in 2016. It decreased slightly during the first six months of this year to stabilize at 110,992. Distracted driving is the most common factor in these accidents.

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accident sceneA one year old baby suffered injuries after being hit by a yellow taxi.  The baby was sitting in a stroller next to the parents on the terrace of a restaurant  located at 85th Street and Second Avenue in the  Upper East Side of Manhattan when the accident happened. Two yellow taxis crashed into each other.  The impact caused one of the taxis to jump the curb and hit the stroller.  Two taxi passengers, a 46-year-old woman and a 9-year-old girl also suffered minor injuries. The two taxi  drivers  weren’t injured. They both jumped out of their taxis and started to argue. According to a witness, they didn’t seem to care much about the injured passengers or the family that they almost killed. Both drivers told the police that the other one didn’t have the green light. The police are still investigating the accident.  They are going to look at footage of the surveillance video camera from the restaurant to  figure out who was right and who was wrong. It was a miracle that no other pedestrians suffered  serious injury as the accident occurred during a sunny  Sunday afternoon  with terraces and sidewalks packed with people. Read more here