The Weekly Carnage

Editors’ note: We’re trying something new with The Weekly Carnage. Though we will continue to gather news from around the region and beyond, beginning this week the column will reflect a tighter focus on crashes and other incidents within the five boroughs. Let us know what you think of the new format.

Fatal Crashes (7 Killed This Week, 7 This Year, 1 Driver Charged*)

• New Brighton, SI: Pedestrian Arthur Katz, 49, Killed by Ambulette Driver; “No Criminality Suspected” (Advance 1, 2, 3)
• Manhattan: Unidentified Pedestrian, 77, Hit and Killed in Midtown; Truck Driver Keeps Going; No Charges (Post)
• Lower East Side, Manhattan: School Bus Driver Runs Down Unidentified Cyclist; No Charges (Streetsblog 1, 2, 3)
• Bensonhurst, Brooklyn: Livery Driver Kills Unidentified Pedestrian, 50; Charged With DWI, Manslaughter (News, Post)
• Midwood, Brooklyn: Pedestrian Rosemary Pratt Killed by Forklift Operator; Cops Issue Summonses for Equipment Violations (YourNabe, WABC, News)
• Prospect Heights, Brooklyn: Pedestrian Mary Mason, 59, Hit by Truck Driver; Driver Keeps Going; No Known Charges (News, Post 1, 2)
• Related: Village Voice Blogger Tony Ortega Brings Levity to This Week’s Suffering and Death
• Graniteville, SI: Toddler Gina Marie Fantauzzi Dies in Three-Vehicle Collision on MLK Parkway; Investigation Ongoing (Advance 1, 2)
• Bronx: Crash on Bruckner Expressway Service Road Claims 12-Year-Old Girl; 15-Year-Old Suspected to Have Been Behind the Wheel (City Room, Post, YourNabe)**

Injuries, Arrests and Property Damage

• Gothamist Newsmap: 3 Unidentified Pedestrians, Including 1 Cop, Struck Since Jan. 4 (1, 2, 3)
• Annadale, SI: 2 Joggers Hurt, One Critically, by Drugged Driver (Advance 1, 2, Post, News)
• Manhattan: 16-Year-Old Hit by Cab Driver in Midtown, in Critical Condition; No Charges (News, Post)
• SI: Hit-and-Run Driver Says 73-Year-Old Parking Lot Ped “Came Out of Nowhere” (Advance)
• Brighton Beach: Ped Seriously Hurt by Hit-and-Run Bus Driver; Unspecified Summons Issued (WINS)
• Red Hook: Driver vs. Storefront Sparks Call for Taming of Van Brunt Street (YourNabe)
• Whitestone, Queens: Suspected Terrorist Crashes During FBI Evasion Attempt (News, Post)
• Brooklyn: DWI Hit-and-Run Leaves 1 Driver Hurt; Road Rage Crash Ends With Arrests (Post)
• Bronx: Driver Injures Cops in Unmarked Car, Causes Fatal Crash Fleeing to Yonkers (Post)
• Departmental Attorney Arrested for DWI En Route to Bloomberg Inauguration (Gothamist)
• Nine Arrested for DWI on Staten Island Over New Year’s Weekend (Advance)
• East Village: Former Net Jayson Williams Hits Tree, Charged With DWI (City Room, WINS)
• Midland Beach, SI: Driver Flips Mercedes on Capodanno Boulevard (Advance)

Street Memorial Project 2009 tribute. Photo: denali2001/Flickr

Following Up

• Safe Street Advos Mark Another Year of Pedestrian and Cyclist Fatalities (Streetsblog, YourNabe, NY1)
• Bronx Cyclist Sues NYPD After Being Hit by Cop Driving Patrol Car (News)
• SI: Driver Gets 5-15 Years in 2007 DWI Crash That Killed Pataki Aide (Advance)

In the Region, Out of Town

• Clifton, NJ: Empty NJ Transit Train Hits Crashed SUV; Driver Killed (Post)
• Bucks County, PA: HS Principal Critically Injures Student Walking to School (Inquirer)
• Scarsdale: Westchester Cop Who Injured Colleague Latest of 4 Officers in DWI Crashes (WINS)
• Enfield, CT: Mom Charged for Leaving Kids in Cold Car Outside Tanning Salon (AP)
• Clintonville, PA: 2 Brooklynites Killed in Crash on Icy Interstate (Post)
• Four Dead in Ohio in Wake of Snow Storm: Does Winter Weather Kill, Or Is It Auto-Dependency? (AP)
• California First Lady Maria Shriver a Repeat-Offending, SUV-Wielding Menace (Post)

Trends and Other News

• New TSTC Report Puts NYC Streets Among Region’s Most Deadly for Pedestrians (Streetsblog 1, 2)
• Bronx Parents Warn of Dangerous, Illegal Driver Behavior Near Norwood School (NY1)
• Residents Across Queens Pan DOT for Unsafe Walking Conditions (Queens Chron 1, 2)
• Report: Keeping City Drivers at 20 MPH Curtails Casualties (New Haven SSC)
• Vision Zero International Releases January 2010 Mag
• Carmakers Want In on Distracted Driver Market (NYT)
• Facebook Silent on Group That Encourages Violence Against Cyclists (CommuteOrlando)
• Ohio DUI Wall of Shame Lists Just 96 Recidivists (Cincinnati Enq)
• “Distracted Driving” Is Webster’s 2009 Word of the Year (Active Transportation Alliance)

* Based on latest available reports
** This crash occurred in 2009 and is not reflected in the weekly or yearly fatality count.