Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
wrecked_house.jpg

A camera phone tipster sends this shot of wreckage on a residential street in Boerum Hill. This morning, a speeding SUV managed to build up enough force to plow through parked cars, take out the iron gate, and demolish a good chunk of the ground floor. FDNY, fearing a cave-in, has propped up the front of the building. Mercifully, no one was hurt. We're told that the driver lost control due to a seizure, though our source says that traffic engineering has also made this block more susceptible to crashes.

...since DOT replaced the stop sign at the intersection before our block [with a traffic light], we have had three incidents where cars have gotten up to such a speed they've flipped over and took out a bunch of cars.

When this same traffic light was installed two years ago, Andy Wiley-Schwartz, who now heads up the public plaza program at DOT, found it inexplicable.

Update: Curbed has more photos and details about how this happened. The driver kept trying to maneuver the berserk vehicle until the wheels were in the air:

...a lady tried to parallel park on front of the house, and her accelerator got stuck. After punching the hole, she sped back onto the street and smashed up a few cars, before flipping over.

After the jump, the mammoth SUV that caused this destruction.

suv_wreck.jpg

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Queenshorror Bridge: Two Days After Minor Storm, Span Was An Ice Sheet (But It’s Better Now!)

Bike riders are angry about conditions on the Queensboro Bridge bike lane more than two days after a fairly insignificant snowfall ended.

January 21, 2026

INTERVIEW: MTA Chair Janno Lieber Talks to Streetsblog to Mark Four Years at the Top

The MTA chairman talked with Streetsblog about his tenure, congestion pricing, bus stops, Babe Ruth and more.

January 21, 2026

OPINION: To Move Past the ‘Agony and Terror’ of the Adams Years, DOT Must Lean Into Research

Ex-Mayor Adams sandbagged DOT's capacity to explain why it pursue street redesigns in the first place, and the ability to inform New Yorkers, in clear and honest terms.

January 21, 2026

Wednesday’s Headlines: Talk is Cheap Edition

We're hawking half-priced tickets to a New York Focus transportation event. Plus other news.

January 21, 2026

F150 Driver Kills Cyclist in Queens

The carnage continues in the World's Borough.

January 20, 2026

Central Park Changes Have Eased Crossings for Pedestrians, New Data Shows

Pedestrians are waiting less time to cross the bustling six-mile loop after the city shortened crossing distances and replaced "stop" lights with yellow "yield" signals.

January 20, 2026
See all posts