Dangerous Drivers Practically Begging for NYPD’s Attention
The DNAinfo story on the crash that injured multiple people in Midtown Saturday night is like the elementary school exercise that involved a sequence of sentences with one that didn't belong.
Nine people were hurt when a Jaguar sparked a chain reaction accident near Bryant Park Saturday night, authorities said.
According to police, the driver of the luxury car was traveling on West 42nd Street, near Sixth Avenue, when he rear-ended a Chevy Impala around 9 p.m.
Sources said that the car may have been speeding at the time of the smashup.
The impact sent the Impala careening into a taxi and the Jaguar flipped over, smashing into a group of people on the sidewalk, cops said.
Four pedestrians suffered a variety of injuries including a concussion. One refused medical attention, police said.
Four people in the Impala suffered non life-threatening injuries.
All of the victims were taken to Bellevue Hospital.
According to cops, there did not appear to be criminality.
In New York, however, the last line makes perfect sense. An NYPD spokesman told the Times that none of the victims was "likely to die," meaning that, if police protocols were followed, the department's Accident Investigation Squad did not investigate the crash. And since precinct cops normally will not charge a driver unless they personally witness an infraction -- again, according to department policy -- there is practically no chance that the person who crashed into another vehicle and flipped his car onto a sidewalk into a crowd of people will get as much as a moving violation.
Wrote Streetsblog commenter Long-Time Observer: "Because the NYPD does not investigate these kinds of crashes, we will we ever know what exactly caused the crash in Midtown and what can be done to prevent future crashes with similar causes. If the crash was caused by reckless driving, the driver could very well be back behind the wheel driving around the streets of New York City today."
And if it turns out that a victim was in fact mortally injured Saturday, the lapse between the time of the crash and an AIS investigation has the potential to quash any case against the driver -- not that charges would necessarily be issued in the first place.
Also, keep in mind that this crash is one of thousands every year that are handled by police and prosecutors in exactly the same manner.
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