Boat Accident Near Perth Amboy Kills 1, Injures 4
A New Brunswick man is dead after the boat he was on capsized off the coast of Staten Island, near Perth Amboy. The drowning is said to have been a “tragic accident,” according to one NYPD source speaking to The Star-Ledger.
The pleasure boat was carrying 5 people. It’s believed the anchor got caught, capsizing the boat, according to authorities.
Three men and one woman, the only one wearing a life-jacket, were treated and released at Raritan Bay Medical Center in Perth Amboy. But Mario Baredales was dead when the rescue mission began.
According to another report from the Star-Ledger, the boat passengers were rescued by another civilian vessel who happened upon the capsized boat quite by accident.
David Gross, who was piloting his own sport fishing boat, changed his route when the swells in the Verrazano Narrows looked a little rough for his aging mother-in-law who was on board. He altered his course into Raritan Bay when he saw four people waving in the water, one of them grasping the lifeless body of their friend. Continue reading
42nd Street Accident Injures 10, Including Pedestrians
An accident on 42nd Street and 6th Avenue this past weekend sent several people to the hospital, including several pedestrians. The accident shows how dangerous it can be, even just to walk the sidewalks in New York City.
According to CBS New York, the accident was triggered when a Jaguar, traveling at a high rate of speed, crashed into the back of an Impala, stopped at a red light. Then, the Jag hit a cab before jumping the sidewalk and mowing several people down.
Witnesses said it appeared as though the taxi turned over on its side and hit a tree, causing the roof to be “shaved” off of the vehicle.
Reports are conflicting but at least three people from the vehicles are listed in critical condition, while three pedestrians are listed in serious condition. According to the NY Times, at least two people at the scene refused medical treatment.
One witness, who had been reading in the nearby Bryant Park when the accident occurred, said he ran over to the scene after hearing the crash. There he found people lying on the sidewalks “screaming for help.” Continue reading
Subway Worker Burned Severely in Fire Accident
Michael Lee, 45, has worked on the subways of NYC long enough to be referred to as a “veteran,” according to the New York Post. It isn’t clear just how soon, or if, he’ll be returning to work, however, after a tragic accident on the job left him hospitalized with second and third-degree burns over his body.
Lee was working on his day off, getting some overtime, when the accident occurred. He reportedly dropped a 200-pound piece of equipment, known as a coupler, onto the third rail. When the coupler fell, bolts came off the rail, knocking Lee down and engulfing him in flamed.
Rolling around on the ground didn’t help and Lee ended up ripping off his clothing with his bare hands as he burned. Throughout the ordeal, Lee remained conscious. Continue reading
Fatal Car Accident Claims 3 Lives in Phelps
Three people were killed in a tragic accident early this week. A 65- and 66-year old husband and wife duo, along with their 55-year old passenger were all pronounced dead at the scene of the accident. Another motorist is in critical condition.
The accident occurred on County Road 6 near the town of Phelps, 50 miles West of Syracuse, according to the Times Union. George Halbfinger, with his wife and friend in the car, pulled onto Route 6 where his car was hit by a southbound vehicle.
It isn’t clear who is at fault for the accident as investigations are likely still underway. But the speed required to instantly kill three people would indicate that perhaps Route 6 traffic had the right of way and no duty to stop at that particular intersection. Halbfinger may have turned in front of the oncoming vehicle, who hit him on the driver’s side. Continue reading
New York Buses Will Undergo More Frequent/Thorough Inspections
New York buses can expect to be under greater scrutiny in the state’s effort to prevent deadly accidents like those seen in 2011. The state has earmarked $1 million for a new bus inspection program, according to LoHud.com. The new program will force some buses to face multiple inspections per year, based on prior performance and a number of other factors.
The companies who have failed inspections or who have bad safety records will see more inspections than those who do well. All companies will get at least two inspections per year, which is the current standard.
In 2011, there were two major bus accidents in the state, one which killed 15 in March and one that killed 8 in October.
In the March 2011 crash, the driver was found to have hit near 80 miles per hour prior to the crash, and to have convictions for manslaughter and grand larceny on his record. In that accident, the bus tipped on its side and slid, allowing a pole to rip through the roof and the length of the bus. Continue reading
Fatal Manhattan Crane Accident Under Investigation
Last week one construction worker was killed and four others injured when a crane collapsed at a worksite in Manhattan. According to the NY Times, the crane boom split in two, sending debris raining down on workers. Work was immediately halted while the accident is being investigated by numerous agencies.
The accident occurred at a Manhattan Transit Authority site, where they are working to extend the number 7 train. Following the collapse, the MTA ordered immediate inspections on the cranes at all of their work sites.
Thirty-year old Michael Simermeyer of Lawrenceville, N.J. was killed when the crane came tumbling down. One other worker remains hospitalized. The depth of the worksite was said to make rescue efforts more difficult.
In a weird twist of irony, the crane was due for inspection just two days after the accident. The last date of inspection was January 10 of this year when the boom was in use and therefore wasn’t inspected. Instead, at that time, only the control station below was looked at. Prior to that, the last full inspection was conducted in July 2011, where the entire crane was inspected and passed. Continue reading
Construction worker killed in New York building collapse
Last week, construction workers were in the process of demolishing a 100-year-old warehouse when the building suddenly collapsed, burying three workers in a huge pile of concrete, bricks and steel. Although emergency responders were able to extricate all three from the rubble, the men suffered serious injuries, ultimately resulting in one worker’s death.
According to police reports, the fatal construction accident occurred as the workers were demolishing the two-story warehouse as part of Columbia University’s expansion. Although the exact cause of the incident is not yet known, a New York City spokesman says that it may have been triggered by the severing of a key structural beam earlier that morning. Continue reading
Nearly 100,000 kids hurt in stair injuries each year
According to a recent study published in the journal Pediatrics, a child under the age of 5 is treated in a U.S. emergency room for a stair-related injury every six minutes.
The study reportedly found that more than 93,000 children were hurt on stairs every year between 1999 and 2008, with a total of 932,000 injuries to children under the age of 5 during that decade. Researchers believe that a variety of factors are responsible for the high number of injuries, including faulty stairway design and maintenance and lack of parental education.
In the study, researchers found that about 75 percent of children who were hurt on the stairs suffered head and neck injuries. About one-third of the total injuries were to the soft tissue, one-fourth were cuts, and one-fifth were closed-head injuries. The remaining harm was in the form of dislocations, fractures and similar injuries.
In sum, about 3 percent of the children injured on the stairs required hospitalization. The number of stair-related fatalities is unknown. Continue reading
Brooklyn driving school loses license after bus accident
A New York driving school has had its operating license suspended after an undercover investigation reportedly found that the owners were using fraudulent methods to help students pass licensing tests. The owners of the school are also facing criminal fraud charges in connection with the alleged offenses.
The N & Y Professional Service Line School was recently linked to a fatal bus accident in which a low-fare bus traveling from North Carolina to New York crashed in Virginia, killing four people and injuring dozens more. The driver of the bus, who received his commercial driver’s license from N & Y, later admitted that he had fallen asleep just before the crash. He is now facing manslaughter charges. Continue reading
Verdict Expected In Deadly Bus Accident Case
A 60-year old bus driver will soon learn his fate, after facing homicide charges for a bus accident he is alleged to have caused last September. The driver, John Tomaszewski, suffered serious injuries himself, as did several passengers, when he crashed a double decker bus into a low overpass, causing the bus to tip on its side. Though there’s a good chance he will be found guilty, it isn’t yet clear if the prosecutor is seeking jail time.
According to CP24.com, the accident may have happened when Tomaszewski made a wrong turn and was consulting a hand-held GPS device. As a result, four passengers on the bus were killed. He was ultimately charged with four counts of criminally negligent homicide and one count of failing to obey a traffic control device.
Since the bus accident, Tomaszewski has been living with family. He suffered a traumatic brain injury in the accident and is in need of surgery. He was released without bail pending the verdict as the judge didn’t see him as a flight risk, and with good reason.
Although other passengers on the bus were injured, the status of any civil cases isn’t clear. Continue reading
Increased Penalties for Faking Auto Accidents
The state Senate passed legislation to crack down on auto insurance fraud this week, just after a fraud ring was busted for faking accidents and reaping the financial rewards through insurance companies. The legislation will create a new felony law, making it a serious crime to stage an auto accident. Conviction under the law will warrant up to 7 years in prison.
Insurance fraud is said to cost the people of New York more than $1 billion each year. And it isn’t just people staging accidents that get in on the action. According to the NY Daily News, the Department of Financial Services has “launched a crackdown” on medical professionals that also take part in the fraudulent schemes.
The Department sent letters to 135 doctors in the NYC area after their billing practices “raised red flags”. To substantiate those bills being submitted to insurance companies for reimbursement, the agency requested supporting documentation from the doctors, proving the bills were legitimate. Continue reading
80-Year Old Man Hits School Bus, Bicycle and Range Rover
Bensonhurst was the scene of multiple auto accidents last week as an 80-year old man not only hit a school bus, but went on to hit a bicyclist and a Range Rover truck before coming to a stop. Tommy Saladino was taken to the hospital but is expected to be arrested and charged with leaving the scene of an accident.
Saladino allegedly hit a school bus and kept driving. It wasn’t until he hit a bicycle and Range Rover that his black Mercedes was stopped on 73rd Street near 18th Avenue.
A sixty-three year old bicyclist was thrown onto the windshield of a parked car after being hit by Saladino. He lost his helmet and shoes and rolled from on top of the vehicle to the sidewalk. According to the NY Daily News, he was in cardiac arrest when he was transported to Maimonides Hospital.
Saladino is the owner of Continental Shoes, also on 18th Avenue. He had hit a school bus and was driving away when the bicycle accident happened. While he would have normally only been charged with hit and run, he will now face the consequences of the other two collisions as well. Continue reading