The Weekly Carnage
The Weekly Carnage is a Friday round-up of motor vehicle mayhem
across the metro region. For more on the origins and purpose of this
column, please read About the Weekly Carnage.
By
Brad Aaron
1:02 PM EDT on October 9, 2009
The Weekly Carnage is a Friday round-up of motor vehicle mayhem
across the metro region. For more on the origins and purpose of this
column, please read About the Weekly Carnage.

Fatal Crashes (11 Killed This Week, 201 This Year*, 20 Drivers Charged**)
- Manhattan: Elderly Harlem Man Hit by NYPD Cruiser (Post, News, NY1)
- Queens: Teen Pedestrians Struck by SUV Driver; 1 Dead, 1 Critical; “No Criminality Suspected” (AP)
- Queens: Livery Driver Crushed Changing Flat Tire (News)
- Kent, NY: Motorcyclists Hit Pick-up; 1 Dead (LoHud)
- Greenwich, CT: Motorcyclist Killed in Car Collision (CT Post)
- Livingston, NJ: Mother, Daughter Struck in Crosswalk; 1 Dead (Star-Ledger, The Local)
- Summit, NJ: Woman Walking Dog Hit by Livery Driver (Indy Press)
- Elizabeth, NJ: Teen Pedestrian Struck (Star-Ledger)
- Parsippany, NJ: New York Post Employee Rear-Ends Tractor-Trailer, Killed (NJLN)
- Wall, NJ: Man Killed in Collision With Unlicensed Hit-and Run Driver (Star-Ledger)
- Hopewell, NJ: Driver Killed in One-Car Crash (Times)
Injuries, Arrests and Property Damage
- Queens: 17-Year-Old Plows Into Bus Stop, Injures 6, Instantly Pardoned by NYPD (Streetsblog)
- Manhattan: Yellow Cabbie, Pedicabbie in Midtown Street Brawl (Streetsblog)
- Brooklyn: Serious Two-Car Collision at Grand Army Plaza (B’stoner)
- Staten Island: Unlicensed Drunk Driver Crashes Into 3 Cars, Injuring 2 (Advance)
- Staten Island: Dead Deer Spotted on SIE (Advance)
- Yonkers: Corrections Officer Charged With DWI, Fired After Collision With Firefighter (LoHud)
- Yonkers: “Wandering” Truck Driver Hits Bronx River Parkway Overpass (LoHud)
- Scarsdale: Police Look for Driver in Cyclist Hit-and-Run (LoHud)
- Hoboken: Elderly Woman Hit by Delivery Van Driver (Jersey Jrnl)
- Holtsville, LI: Man Critical After Slamming Into Police Cruiser; Charged With DWI (Newsday)
- New Hyde Park, LI: Drunk Father Drives Onto Sidewalk of Son’s School (Newsday)
- Stamford, CT: Man Arrested When 11-Year-Old Son Crashes Idling Car (CT Post)
- Danbury, CT: Passenger Seriously Injured in One-Car DWI Crash (CT Post)
- Jackson, NJ: Pick-up Driver Rear-Ends School Bus, Injuring 6 (Star-Ledger)
- Somerville, NJ: Hit-and-Run Leads to Drug Arrest (Somerset Reporter)
Following Up
- Brooklyn: Grand Jury Opens Investigation Into Cop Killing of Vionique Valnord (Bklyn Eagle, Post)
- Related: Family in Anguish; Media Obsesses Over Whether Andrew Kelly Gave CPR (Gothamist 1, 2)
- Related: Fellow Ped-Killing Cop Offers Advice, Empathy From Jail (Post)
- Queens: Friends Memorialize James Langergaard With Queens Blvd. Ghost Bike (News, Post)
- Staten Island: Man Pleads Guilty in NYPD Chase Crash That Killed Husband and Wife (Advance)
- Staten Island: City Settles With Owner of Car Damaged by Fire Truck (Advance)
- Schuler Taconic Crash Attorney Works the Media, Family Calls for Grand Jury (Post, Newsday)
- New Haven: 2 Sentenced for Leaving Companion to Die After Motorcycle Crash (CT Post)
Out of Town
- Green Valley, AZ: Motorist Takes Plea in Cyclist Death, Fined $254 (Tuscon Bike Lawyer)
- Cambridge, MA: Lawmaker With 2 DWI Convictions Flees Scene of Latest Crash (AP)
- Lanham, MD: Unlicensed Driver Getting Lesson From Unlicensed Driver Crashes Into Apartment (AP)
- Ephrata, WA: Woman Reaching for Phone Crashes, Killing 6-Year-Old Daughter (AP)
- Marin County, CA: Woman Accused of Using 13-Year-Old Son as Designated Driver (SF Chron)
- Talladega, AL: Fences to Be Heightened After NASCAR Crash Injures Fans (AP)
- Hereford, MS: Baltimore Sun Editor Killed in Collision With UPS Truck (AP)
- Paramus, NJ: Hip-Hop Producer Charged After Fatal Parking Lot Hit-and-Run (AP)
- Beverly Hills, CA: Nicole Richie Injured in Collision With Unlicensed Paparazzi (Post)
- Los Angeles: Mel Gibson’s Anti-Semitic DWI Episode Expunged (Post)
Trends
- Pedestrians and Cyclists Now Make Up Nearly Two-Thirds of City Traffic Fatalities (MTR)
- Fearing for Kids’ Lives, SI Residents Turn to Homemade Speed Bumps (Advance, NY1)
- Car Makers Use “Smart” Gas Pedals to Curb Unintended Acceleration (Wheels)
- Fleeing the Scene Pays for Drunken California Drivers (BikingInLA)
- Can Laws and Technology Save Us From TWD? (News, NYT)
* Since the week of June 8
** Drivers charged for deaths since the week of June 8, based on latest available reports
Brad Aaron began writing for Streetsblog in 2007, after years as a reporter, editor, and publisher in the alternative weekly business. Brad adopted New York's dysfunctional traffic justice system as his primary beat for Streetsblog. He lives in Manhattan.
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