Pedestrian Accidents Are a Growing Concern

New Yorkers are thinking twice about where they walk as a series of pedestrian accidents left five people dead and two critically injured across the city in a span of 31 hours. Even more distressing is that five of these incidents involved a hit and run driver.

The timeline is a frightening one:

• Sunday 1:30 A.M. A 63-year-old man near the entrance ramp of the Cross Bronx Expressway was struck and killed by a hit and run driver in an SUV in the Bronx.
• Sunday 2:15 A.M. A 22-year-old woman was hit by a driver in a minivan who left the scene of the accident in Jamaica, Queens. She was taken to the hospital in critical condition.
• Sunday 3:30 A.M. A 30-year-old man was found unconscious with severe head and body trauma in SoHo. He was taken to the hospital in critical condition while the vehicle that hit him was nowhere to be found.
• Sunday 4:40 A.M. A 48-year-old man was removing items from the backseat of his vehicle when he was fatally injured by a hit and run driver in Ozone Park, Queens.
• Sunday 5:00 A.M. A 41-year-old man was killed in a bicycle accident when the cyclist was struck by a hit and run driver in Park Slope, Brooklyn.
• Sunday 11:30 P.M. A 33-year-old man was found lying in the road after a motorist felt his car go over a big bump in the Bronx. The driver remained on the scene but the injured pedestrian did not survive.
• Monday 8:30 A.M. A 77-year-old woman died after being hit by a livery cab in the Murray Hill section of Manhattan. The cab driver remained at the scene.

Despite these tragic incidents, the past two years have actually seen a decline in pedestrian fatalities throughout the five boroughs. Mayor Bill de Blasio still feels his Vision Zero plan to eliminate pedestrian fatalities by the year 2024 is on track. Lower speed limits and an increase in the enforcement of traffic violations such as speeding have already put into place. One of the worst areas for pedestrian accidents, Queens Boulevard (referred to as the “Boulevard of Death”), is undergoing a major redesign as part of the plan.

Even with the mayor’s reassurance, this latest string of pedestrian accidents have New York City residents on alert. On Monday morning, just a few miles across the Hudson River in West New York, a 7-year-old girl was killed by another hit and run driver while walking with her mother to school. That driver was arrested along with an accomplice and will hopefully face justice. If you or a family member has been injured in a pedestrian accident, contact an experienced attorney at Finz & Finz, P.C., to guide you through the legal process and help get the compensation you are entitled to.