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.

schmeer_garretsavage.jpgKaren 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

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

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