The Weekly Carnage is a Friday round-up of motor vehicle violence across the five boroughs and beyond. For more on the origins and purpose of this column, please read About the Weekly Carnage.
Fatal Crashes (4 killed this week, 95 this year, 14 drivers charged*)
Astoria: Sabrina Mangos, 10, Visiting from Australia, Killed in Two-Car Collision; No Charges (News)
Westside Highway: Motorcyclist Kastrioit Prelaj, 22, Fatally Struck in Hit-and-Run; Other Driver Involved Arrested for DWI (NBC NY)
Bed-Stuy: Motorcyclist Alexander Braggs, 51, Pinned Under and Dragged By Dump Truck on Atlantic Avenue; No Charges (Post Blotter)
Rosedale: 36-Year-Old Motorcyclist Fatally Struck By Driver With Making Illegal U-Turn; Driver Issued Traffic Citations (Post Blotter)
Injuries, Arrests and Property Damage
Mount Hope: Hit-and-Run Driver Leaves Teen in Critical Condition (Post)
Murray Hill: Truck Driver Jumps Curb, Narrowly Missing Woman and the Stroller Holding Her Two Kids (DNAinfo)
Harlem: Man Intentionally Drives Van Into Central Park Pond; Faces Reckless Driving and Reckless Endangerment Charges (Post)
Fresh Meadows: Driver Runs Red, Crashes Into Car, Pretends to Be a Cop (Post Blotter)
Maspeth: Drunk Driver Crashes Into Ballfield Fence During Youth Softball Game (YourNabe)
Prospect Heights: Crash on the Corner of Prospect Place and Underhill Avenue is the Third in Three Years (Brownstoner)
UES: Motorcyclist Injured After Being Hit By Driver on Park Avenue (DNAinfo)
New Brighton: Driver Hits Cop With Stolen SUV While Attempting to Flee (Post Blotter)
A drunk driver broke up a youth softball game when she crashed through the fence of a ballfield in Maspeth. Photo:##http://www.yournabe.com/articles/2011/08/11/forest_hills_ledger/news/fh_reiff_playground_crash_20110811.txt##YourNabe##
In the Region, Out of Town
Albany, NY: “Errant Vehicle” Kills Three Seniors Out for a Walk (AP)
Moriches, NY: Off-Duty Police Officer Killed After Crashing Into a Concrete Bridge Support (CBS NY)
Deer Park, NY: Drugged Driver Hits Three Teens Walking Along the Road, Putting One in a Coma (Post)
Following Up
Suspect Charged With Murder in Connection With Brownsville Crash that Killed Kira Goddard (CBS NY)
Hit-and-Run Driver Who Put Bloomberg Aide in Permanent Coma Gets 4-Year Max Sentence (News)
No Charges for Truck Driver Who Jumped Curb and Struck a Pedestrian in Murray Hill (DNAinfo)
Other News
Cars as Weapons: Verizon Uses Company Vehicles to Hit and Intimidate Strikers (Star-Ledger)
Hudson Square BID Puts Pedestrians First Near Entrance to Holland Tunnel (Streetsblog)
Poll: 80% of NYC Residents Think Cabbies "Don't Share the Road Well" (News)
"Human Error" Blamed in Google's Self-Driving Car Crash (News)
The Department of Transportation wants the Dangerous Vehicle Abatement Program to simply expire in part because it did not dramatically improve safety among these worst-of-the-worst drivers and led to a tiny number of vehicle seizures.
The capitulation on Fordham Road is the latest episode in which the mayor has delayed or watered down a transportation project in deference to powerful interests.
That headline above is a reference to the last line of James Joyce's Ulysses, which we won't pretend to have read. But we have that ... and other news.