Man Trips Over Trash, Hit by Garbage Truck
A 31-year old man who had only been living in the city nine months was killed last week when he fell in front of a Sanitation truck. According to the NY Daily News, the accident happened because business owners in the area have been putting their trash on the sidewalk, creating a fall hazard and causing the man to trip.
Andrew Schoonover was out with his sister that night and had been watching the game at a bar earlier. The two parted ways and Schoonover ended up in Manhattan. It was about 1:20 a.m. when emergency workers were called to E. 84th St. on a report that a man had been hit.
The accident happened in front of a popular pizzeria, Two Boots. The business has been cited for leaving a sidewalk obstruction. While the manager of Two Boots had no comment for reporters, it was made known that construction in the area had forced businesses to leave their garbage on the sidewalk rather than directly in front of their property. Continue reading
NYC in Top 20 Worst Drivers List
Allstate published their annual “Best Drivers Report” this week and New York City was nowhere to be seen. No, instead, NYC was on the other list, the worst drivers. Fortunately, we didn’t make it into the top ten, but instead were listed at number 20.
Each year, the insurance giant publishes this report, ranking cities for how often their drivers are involved in accidents. According to the report, the national average says the average driver will have an auto accident every 10 years. In NYC, the average driver is 41.1% more likely than the national average to be involved in an accident.
Topping the list was Washington D.C., where drivers are 112.1% more likely to be involved in an accident than the typical driver in the U.S. Baltimore, MD., Providence, RI., Hialeah, FL., and Glendale, CA. rounded out the top five areas with the worst drivers. Continue reading
New Report Indicates Law Violations Responsible for Most Pedestrian and Bike Accidents
Transportation Alternatives, an NYC transportation advocacy group, released a study this week that found three out of every five deadly pedestrian and bicycle crashes in New York City are caused by “illegal driving behavior.” They, like many others, are hoping the city will soon change how they investigate such accidents so that drivers can be held responsible for the tragedy they leave behind.
According to the Transportation Alternatives website, “Deadly Driving Unlimited: How the NYPD Lets Dangerous Drivers Run Wild” looks at how the lack of investigations and repercussions for drivers involved in these fatal pedestrian and bicycle accidents only makes the problem worse.
The report analyzed data from the Department of Transportation. It found that 60 percent of fatal cyclist and pedestrian accidents with known causes were caused by illegal driving behavior betwee 1995 and 2009. These illegal driving behaviors could be anything from speeding, to running a red light, or drinking and driving.
Between 2001 and 2010, 1,7,45 pedestrians and cyclists were killed in accidents involving drivers in the city. Continue reading
Bronx River Parkway Crash Raises Road Safety Concerns
The van carrying seven family members that died in last week’s Bronx Zoo crash was traveling with traffic. It may have been going 68 mph in a 50 mph zone, but that’s how 
fast traffic moves in that area. The accident has raised safety concerns among officials and New York motorists alike, bringing attention to the “aging highway system,” according to the Washington Post.
“The Bronx River Parkway is a glaring example of the deficiencies we see on area roadways,” said Robert Sinclair, a spokesman for the American Automobile Association. “These roads were never envisioned as being the commuter arterial roadways that they are now. The roads are twisty. They are hilly. The lanes are narrow. There are no breakdown lanes. The on-ramps are too short.”
Despite these facts, the roads of New York City are said to be far less deadly than other systems throughout the country. The Department of Transportation says that 243 people died in NYC accidents in 2011, the least amount in over 100 years. North Carolina, a state with about the same number of people as NYC, averages around 1,300 fatalities per year.
Experts say that rural roads or those without much traffic are the deadliest. Continue reading
Equipment Owner Acquitted in Fatal 2008 Crane Accident
James Lomma was acquitted last week by State Supreme Court Justice Daniel P. Conviser on charges including manslaughter for his alleged role in a deadly crane accident. Lomma is the owner of the crane that collapsed in 2008, killing two construction workers. Prosecutors alleged that he knowingly took a shortcut in getting the crane repaired, putting everyone at a substantial risk.
Though the judge did not expand on his reasons for the acquittal, Lomma’s defense attorneys argued that repair work done on the crane was not to blame for the accident.
The accident happened as the crane began work on the 14th floor of what was going to be a 32-story building. As the crane lifted a load, “the top portions came off,” hitting a building across the street before falling.
Crane operator Donald C. Leo was killed when the crane nearly decapitated him. Twenty-seven year old Ramadan Kurtaj was also killed. 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