The Weekly Carnage

The Weekly Carnage is a Friday round-up of motor vehicle mayhem
across the five boroughs and beyond. For more on the origins and purpose of this
column, please read About the Weekly Carnage.

Karen Schmeer. Photo: Garret Savage

Fatal Crashes (2 Killed This Week*, 24 This Year, 5 Drivers Charged**)

• Pedestrian Karen Schmeer, 39, Killed on Upper West Side by Driver Fleeing Police; 1 Charged With Murder; DA Cy Vance Opens Query Into Crash (Streetsblog 1, 2)
• Bayside, Queens: Unidentified Pedestrian, Three Months Pregnant, Killed Jan. 12 on Union Turnpike; No Charges; Former Boss Wants Safer Street (YourNabe)

Injuries, Arrests and Property Damage

• Gothamist Newsmap: Unidentified Pedestrian Struck on Ocean Parkway
• YourNabe Brooklyn Blotter: Driver Charged With Reckless Endangerment for Buzzing Cop
• Brooklyn Heights: FedEx Driver Smashes Into Building, “Clips” Pedestrian (Bklyn Eagle, YourNabe)
• Morris Park, Bronx: Thief Takes Idling NYPD SUV for a Spin (News)
• Kew Gardens Hills: Cab Driver Caught After Hit and Run (Post [Blotter])
• More Post Blotter: Insurance Fire, DWIs in Staten Island, Queens
• Brooklyn: 61-Year-Old Charged With DWI After Belt Pkwy Crash (YourNabe)

Following Up

• No Charges From DA Vance for Howard Safir Hit-and-Run (Streetsblog, News, City Room)
• Killer Gets No More Than Seven Years for 1997 Houston Hit-and-Run, Fleeing Country (Streetsblog)
• Six Month Max for Speeding SI Teen Who Ran Light, Killed Man Waiting for Bus (Streetsblog)
• Friends, Family and Co-Workers Mourn Fallen Sanitation Worker Frank Justich (News, YourNabe)
• NYPD Says It’s Cracking Down on Hylan Blvd. Drivers Following Death of Daniel Kelley (Advance)
• NYC and Miami Cyclists Ride in Solidarity Sunday for Slain Christophe Le Canne (Transit Miami)
• Laurel, MS: Civil Suit Begins in 2001 Death of Mets Prospect Brian Cole (News)

In the Region, Out of Town

• Two Staten Islanders Dead in VA, PA DUI Crashes (Advance)
• Cherry Hill, NJ: Small Plane Makes Emergency Landing on Jersey Turnpike (News)
• East Brunswick, NJ: Driver Flips SUV on Turnpike; Post Has a Laugh
• Northampton, LI: Driver Runs Stop Sign, Hit by Transit Bus; 1 Dead, Several Hurt (WINS)
• Vowing to Reduce Collisions, SFPD Chief Initiates Review of Bike-Ped Policies (Streetsblog SF)
• Los Angeles: Man Found Guilty of Murder Two in Rage-Induced Pedestrian Death (LAT)
• Lowell, MA: Truck Driver Crashes Into House After Choking on Fast Food (News)
• Actor Justin Mentell Killed in One-Vehicle Crash in Wisconsin (AP)
• Less Than a Year Later, DWI Killer Donte Stallworth Free to Resume Life as NFL Star (AP)

Other News

• Daily News Issues Half-Serious Call for More Life-Saving Traffic Cams (Streetsblog)
• Elmhurst Ped Summit: Docs, Not NYPD, Doing the Detective Work on Injury Data (Queens Chron)
• TLC Starts Enforcing Zero Tolerance Policy on Distracted Cabbies (Post)
• Truckers’ Share of LIE Crashes Has Almost Doubled Since 2002 (WINS)
• Feds Investigating Prius Brake Failures (NYT)
• Insurers Say “Softer” Car Bumpers Too Expensive to Fix After They Hit People (T’Hugger)
• Texting Laws Tough to Enforce in Places Where It’s Legal to Talk and Drive (SJR)

* Deaths reported or discovered this week
** Based on latest available reports