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 Wrongful Death

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pedestrian struck by carA 65 year old pedestrian died in a NYC accident yesterday night. The victim was crossing Bronxdale Ave in Morris Park, Bronx, when he was hit by a van. The van was a light color. The driver was travelling west. The impact was so strong that the pedestrian flew in the air, and landed on another car. He was rushed to the hospital in critical condition. He later died from his injuries. The driver of the van fled the scene of the accident. Over three days, 3 pedestrian died in traffic accidents in New York City. Two days ago a pedestrian died after being struck by an ambulance in Manhattan. Three days ago a woman died after being hit by a drunk driver in Queens.

Read more and see video here

Picture courtesy of Wikipedia

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drunk driving A woman died in a car accident in New York Yesterday. The accident was caused by a drunk driver. 49 year old Aissatou Diallo was travelling with her 16 year old son on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway on their way to a wedding. A relative who was traveling in front of them had a flat tire. They stopped to help him. As Aissatou was waiting next to her car, a drunk driver rear ended her car. The car careened into the mother and sent her flying off the elevated highway. After the accident, the drunk driver tried to flee the scene of the accident on foot. He was chased  by Diallo’s son who caught him and held him until the arrival of the police. Diallo’s son told the police that the driver, 43 year old Vladimir Menin, was so drunk that he couldn’t speak coherently.  Aissatou Diallo was transported to the hospital in critical condition. She later died from her injuries.

Read more in the NY Daily News

Image: courtesy of pixabay

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NYC pedestrian accident locationA pedestrian was hit by an ambulance in New York yesterday afternoon. 81 year old Gen Zhan was crossing East 14th Street and Second Ave., NYC in the crosswalk when the ambulance struck him. The ambulance was responding to a call but didn’t have its lights or sirens on. According to ABC7 the driver had a green arrow and the right of way when he made the turn. The driver stayed at the scene of the accident. The elderly pedestrian was transported to the hospital with severe body trauma. He later died from his injuries. We are having a rash of pedestrian accident in NYC.

Picture:  location of the pedestrian accident courtesy of Google Map

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Brooklyn Bridge Bike LaneWith a new victim last week, the number of fatal bicycle accidents in New York City in 2016 has now reached 15. In only 8 months the number of bicyclists killed this year in New York City has reached the same number as the number of bicyclist killed during the entire year of 2015. Among these 15 bicycle accidents, 8 of them occurred in Brooklyn, 3 in the Bronx, 2 in Manhattan, 1 in Staten Island and 1 in Queens. In a recent article in the New York Time, Eli Rosenberg provides an in depth analysis of this worrisome rise of fatal bicycle accidents in Brooklyn and what is being done and could be done by the city to prevent them.

The bicycling culture in Brooklyn is the strongest of all 5 boroughs. It has the highest number of bicycle commuters of in the city. However, despite this enthusiasm for this healthy mode of transportation, Brooklyn streets are still very hazardous to bicyclists.  Despite Vision Zero efforts to make streets safer, bike lanes, especially protected bike lanes are still lacking in many areas of Brooklyn. The recent death of 35 year old Matthew Von Ohlen is proof that unprotected bike lanes are not enough to make the streets safe.   Protected bike lanes have statistically proven to reduce the number of injuries related to accidents by 20%.

As the number of people using their bikes to commute around Brooklyn continues to grow, there is an obvious need for the city to act fast in continuing to create protective bike lanes for bicycle commuters in Brooklyn. While Manhattan already has 122 miles of protected bike lanes, Brooklyn is much larger than Manhattan and yet only has 84 miles of protected bike lanes. 15 more miles are planned to be installed in 2016.  15 miles is better than nothing but still seems like very little. Large areas of South Brooklyn where 3 cyclists died this year still have no bike lanes, protected or not.  In his article Eli Rosenberg concludes that there is still a lot to do including changing the old mentality that cars rule and to protect the 18,300 Brooklyn bicyclists who commute to work daily.

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schenkman-michaelA bicyclist was fatally struck by a car in NYC. Yesterday morning, 78 year old Michael Schenkman was riding his bike on Northern Boulevard in Bayside, Queens when he was struck by a car. Michael Schenkman was an avid biker and a member of Transportation Alternatives. He was riding his bike every morning for 20 miles. The accident occurred on Northern Boulevard near 223rd Street around 6:30 am. The 25 year old driver of the car stayed at the scene of the accident and so far hasn’t been charged. A picture in the NY Daily News shows that the impact was so strong that the windshield was completely destroyed. In an article in Street Blog, Brad Aaron  suspects that the driver was speeding.

Michael Schenkman is the 16th victim who died in a bicycle accident in New York City this year. The number of bicyclists fatalities is on the rise in the city. Last year during the entire year 14 people died in bicycle accidents.

After yesterday’s accident, Transportation Alternatives released a statement asking the mayor to implement the Vision Zero Initiative to make the streets of New York City safer faster.

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MartellaSpeed was a factor in a NY Car accident that left 6 people injured and 5 dead. 29 year old Scott Martella, a former aid to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo,  was among the victims who were killed in the accident. Yesterday morning around 9:30 a.m. Scott was driving his Honda in the westbound lane of the Long Island Expressway near Exit 68 in Manorville, NY. Next to him in the passenger seat was his fiancee, 29 year old Shelbi Thurau. As they were driving an eastbound Subaru went airborne and landed in the westbound lane. The Subaru struck the Honda and a BMW. The Subaru was driven by 26 year old Carmelo Pinales. His sister Patricia Pinales was in the passenger seat and his son was in the back. Scott Martella, Carmelo Pinales and Patricia Pinales all died at the scene of the accident. Pinales 10 year old son died later on from his injuries at the hospital. Scott’s fiancee survived. The BMW was driven by 73 year old Marvin Tenzer. He was with his wife Sandra and another couple: Helen and Isidore Adelson. Mr Adleson died from his injuries yesterday night and the rest of the BMW occupants sustained injuries. Witnesses who saw the Subaru passing them before the accident said the car “was flying”.

Read more in the NY Times  Picture:Linkedin

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King Plaza and FlatbushA hit and run driver hit a couple crossing Flatbush Ave, killing the husband and seriously injuring the wife.  Last Thursday around  5pm Angel and Samantha Sagardia were crossing Flatbush Ave in front of the King Plaza Mall in Marine Park, Brooklyn when they were struck by a van. According to witnesses the van was speeding. He hit the woman first and then the man. The van driver didn’t slow down and continued on his way leaving the couple critically injured on the road. A side mirror from the van was also found on the street by investigators. The van was also found later on near the intersection of Rogers and Tilden Avenues in East FlatBush. The driver is still at large.  Read more in the NY Daily News

 

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Grand Central ParkwayA man died in a NYC motorcycle accident yesterday night. According to the NYPD the 28 year old motorcyclist was speeding on Grand Central Parkway, weaving in and out of traffic. As he was traveling in the right center lane he crashed into the back of a SUV. The driver and the passenger of the SUV suffered neck and back injuries and were transported to the hospital. The motorcyclist was also taken to the hospital but he couldn’t be saved.

Read more in the NY Daily News 

Picture of the Grand Central Parkway and Jewel Ave courtesy of Google Map

 

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57 pedestrians, 21 bicyclists and 289 motor vehicle occupants were injured in a car accident between 2010 and 2014 at the intersection of Atlantic Ave and Flatbush Ave in Brooklyn, New York City. 5 people also died in crashes at this same location between 2008 and 2016. This busy intersection is one of the most dangerous in New York City and the Department of Transportation wants to make it safer. Last week the DOT presented  a study of the actual traffic conditions at this intersection and proposals to make it safer. As of now, pedestrian crossings are extremely long, the traffic is heavy and often conflicting with pedestrians while turning. Bike lanes do no connect, taxi and buses block the traffic while dropping passengers and the sidewalk design is not appropriate. The intersection is very dangerous. The DOT proposes not only to redesign the intersection of of Flatbush Ave and Atlantic Ave but also the Flatbush Ave intersections near Hanson Place and Ashland place. Among the changes, the plan includes the addition of pedestrian islands and curb extensions to reduce the crossing distances as well some blocks being converted to pedestrian areas and new signalization. The complete study can be downloaded here

Dangerous Intersection NYC

Picture courtesy of Google Map

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boy dead in water slide accidentCaleb Schwab sustained a fatal neck injury as he was riding the the “Verrückt” which is the world’s tallest water slide. The 10 year old boy was decapitated and found dead in a pool at the bottom of the slide.

The accident happened at the Schlitterbahn water park  in Kansas. The “Verrückt” which means insane in German was named the tallest water slide in the world by the Guinness Book of  World Records in 2014. The opening of the ride was delayed after tests on the 168-foot water slide had rafts flying off the slide (see video below).  When the ride finally opened the minimum age to ride it was 14 years old. However a month after the opening the age limit was removed and only the height requirement of 54 inches was kept as a limit to get on the ride.

Caleb boarded the raft with two other women who were not related to him. Both women suffered face injuries. Kelsey Friedrichsen and Josh Foster, a couple waiting  at the top of the water slide to be on the next ride told People Magazine that they saw a group of people at the bottom and a woman being treated for injury to her face. Then they saw first responders covering the body of Caleb.  “It looked like he must have somehow been ejected from his seat, bounced around between the netting and the slide and just slid down,” Friedrichsen said. “He would have fallen down without the raft. It’s kind of like a tube.” A 14 year old girl who took a ride on the “Verrückt” earlier during the day also mentioned that “toward the end of the ride the Velcro on her belt had come undone.” Investigators are still working on determining the exact cause of the accident.