Carnage

Witness Accounts Wanted in Union Square Cyclist Crash

On May 13, 36-year-old Pilar Ortiz was hurt in a collision with an MTA express bus while riding her bike on Broadway between 13th and 14th Streets. Corresponding with Gothamist, attorney Ben Rubinowitz says Ortiz remains in the hospital with severe injuries, the details of which are not for the faint of heart.

By Brad Aaron

1:36 PM EDT on May 20, 2010

Pilar Ortiz. Photo via Gothamist

Pilar suffered extensive, life threatening injuries including fractures of one leg and horrific degloving injuries and fractures to the other leg. A degloving injury is one in which the skin, underlying tissue, muscle, nerves and fascia are peeled away from the body very much the way a glove would be removed from a hand. The injury has been so severe that the surgeons have already conducted 4 surgeries to try and save her leg.
Needless to say, the injuries occurred when she was struck by the bus while she was lawfully on her bicycle. According to the police report the bus driver never saw her and wrote, among other things, that the accident took place because the bus driver failed to yield the right of way while Pilar was crossing the intersection with the signal in her favor. The report also states that the bus driver heard a “crunch and scream.”

Rubinowitz is collecting witness accounts of the crash. Here is his contact info:

Gair Gair Conason Steigman Mackauf Bloom & Rubinowitz

80 Pine Street

NY, NY 10005

212 943 1090

Fax 212 425 7513

speak2ben@aol.com

Brad Aaron

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.

Carnage | Street Safety | Union Square

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