Recent News Headlines Highlight the Persistence of Dangerous Car Accidents Here in NYC
We’ve spoken at length about Mayor di Blasio’s efforts to make New York City’s streets safer, in conjunction with NYCDOT. Through ongoing initiatives including Sustainable Streets and Vision Zero, those in charge of the city’s thoroughfares are working hard to ensure that motorists, pedestrians, and cyclists can travel where they need to go within the five boroughs with a minimum of stress and hassle – and perhaps enjoy themselves a bit more along the way.
Unfortunately, you have only to read the latest news headlines to see that accidents still occur throughout the city on a regular basis. Some of these stories are, frankly, quite chilling – like the story of the Brooklyn man who died after being hit not once, but twice while crossing Atlantic Avenue at Rockaway Avenue in Brownsville. To make matters worse, the second car that hit him fled the scene and has yet to be apprehended.
Another horrifying news item: that of a cyclist, also in Brooklyn, who was struck and killed by another hit-and-run driver. The 54-year old man, a Bensonhurst resident, was hit by a Ryder truck at around 5 p.m. while cycling on Avenue U near East 9 Street in Gravesend. Incredibly, at the time of the report, police had yet to determine if the truck driver’s actions were considered criminal.
And perhaps the most shocking story in recent memory is that of the Queens man who had already hit three pedestrians with his car in the course of a year before striking and killing a woman and dragging her 85 feet before stopping. The woman was obeying traffic rules and walking in the crosswalk at West 95th St and West End Avenue when the crime occurred. Unbelievably, the man was sentenced to up to three years in prison, but may be eligible for parole in as little as eight months.
While we will never be able to completely eradicate accidents that are the result of careless drivers’ negligent (and, quite frankly, inexcusable) actions, we can continue to canvass for safer road conditions – as well as stricter punishments for those who break the rules, both here in NYC and elsewhere in the country.
If you think you have been the victim of motor vehicle driver negligence, you should contact one of our Midtown Manhattan lawyers at Dankner Milstein for a free consultation at 212-751-8000 or office@dmesq.com.
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