The Weekly Carnage
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.
1:19 PM EDT on August 19, 2011
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 (2 killed this week, 97 this year, 14 drivers charged*)
- LES: Cyclist Jeffrey Axelrod, 52, Crushed Under Cement Truck on Delancey Street; No Criminality Suspected (DNAinfo, News, Gothamist)
- Central Park: Motorcyclist Jeremy Spotts, 27, Killed After Colliding Head-On With Town Car (DNAinfo)
Injuries, Arrests and Property Damage
- UES: Multi-Car Crash Leaves Man Pinned Between Cars; Three Others Injured (DNAinfo)
- Maspeth: Sanitation Truck Driver “Loses Control,” Survives Smash Through Fifth-Floor Garage Wall (Post)
- Hell’s Kitchen: M42 Bus Driver Runs Over Rollerblader at West Side Greenway (Gothamist, Post)
- Harlem: Hit-and-Run SUV Driver Mows Down Teen Trying to Save Woman, Breaking His Leg (DNAinfo)
- Ridgewood: Motorcyclist Leads Cops on High-Speed Chase on Crowded Sidewalk (YourNabe)
- Morris Park: Pedestrian Struck in Hit-and-Run Rescued by Con Edision Workers (Bronx Times)
- Soho: Cab Driver Crashes Into Scaffolding, Injuring Four; “No Criminality Suspected” (DNAinfo)
- Jackson Heights: Drunk, Unlicensed Driver Attempting to Flee Crash Scene Held by FDNY (Post Blotter)
- Arden Heights: Driver Going 84 MPH on the West Shore Expressway Arrested for DWI (Post Blotter)
In the Region, Out of Town
- Point Lookout, NY: Driver Stopped at Drawbridge Killed After Being Hit by Pickup Truck Driver (AP)
- Mount Gretna, PA: NY-to-St. Louis Greyhound Bus Flips on Highway, Injuring Fourteen (AP)
- Peekskill, NY: Good Samaritans Rescue Woman and Baby From Burning Car Following Crash (WABC)
- Newark, NJ: Police Open Fire on Carjacking Suspect After He Runs Down, Drags Pedestrian (WPIX)
- Port Chester, NY: Tractor-Trailer Tire Flies Off and Smashes Car Windshield, Killing Driver (WPIX)
Following Up
- Bridgewater, NJ Man Suspected in Hit-and-Run Death of Cyclist Surrenders to Police (Star-Ledger)
- Former Nets Player Jayson Williams Begins Serving One-Year Sentence for DWI Crash (Post)
Other News
- 51 Bus, Truck Drivers Busted for Trying to Obtain Multiple Drivers Licenses (News)
- Cuomo Signs Complete Streets Bill, to Take Effect in February (Streetsblog)
- What Street Safety and Transit Improvements Will DOT Propose for Woodhaven Blvd? (Q Chron)
* Based on latest available reports
Streetsblog has migrated to a new comment system. New commenters can register directly in the comments section of any article. Returning commenters: your previous comments and display name have been preserved, but you'll need to reclaim your account by clicking "Forgot your password?" on the sign-in form, entering your email, and following the verification link to set a new password — this is required because passwords could not be carried over during the migration. For questions, contact tips@streetsblog.org.
More from Streetsblog New York City
Feds Charge Fraud Temp Tag Dealers ID’d in Streetsblog’s ‘Ghost Plate’ Series
Eleven fraudulent car dealers — including several who were identified in Streetsblog's award-winning 2023 investigation — sold more than 100,000 fake temporary tags, robbing taxpayers of about $15 million and turning those vehicles into "ghost cars" that were involved in at least six homicides, federal prosecutors said this week.
May 22, 2026
State Pols Pass The Non-Controversial Part Of Hochul’s Car Insurance Reforms
Lawmakers approved budget legislation on Thursday that will hinder insurers' ability to unilaterally increase auto premiums and also limit the consumer data they can employ to set rates.
May 22, 2026
Mamdani Says He’ll Back DOT Against Bikelash in W. 72nd St. Safety Revamp
Unlike his predecessor, Mamdani vowed to not throw his Department of Transportation under the bus.
May 22, 2026
Firefighters Flex Union Muscle In Bid To Keep Deadly Astoria Corridor Unsafe
Rogue firefighters are attempting to kill a bike lane in Astoria, even though FDNY, DOT and Mayor Mamdani back the life-saving redesign.
May 22, 2026
Friday Video: A Bike Lane on Chambers Street!
We sent Editor Gersh Kuntzman out into the fray to see if the pols are right to seek an indirect, inconvenient route rather than take on the entrenched placard elite that ruins Chambers for all of us.
May 22, 2026