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.

Fatal Crashes (1 killed this week, 147 this year, 20 drivers charged*)

• South Williamsburg: Meilech Weiss, 62, Killed Crossing the Street; No Charges (Post Blotter, Vos Iz Neias)

Injuries, Arrests and Property Damage

• Morningside Heights: Pedestrian Critically Injured in Hit-And-Run Where Daniela D’Ercole Was Killed Last Month (DNAinfo, Post)
• Corona: Drunk Driver Rear-Ends Police Cruiser, Attempts to Flee Scene (Post Blotter)
• Midtown: Cab Driver Jumps Curb, Pins Pedestrian Against Scaffolding (DNAinfo)
• Harlem: Son of Rapper Doug E. Fresh Arrested for DWI (DNAinfo)
• Sunnyside, SI: Six Injured in Crash Involving Police Cruiser (Advance)
• Oakland Gardens: Three-Car Crash Injures Four, Trapping One in Vehicle (Times Ledger)
• Lincoln Tunnel: Tractor-Trailer Near NJ Entrance Overturns, Closing Several Lanes (DNAinfo)
• Whitestone: Emergency Responders Find Car That Crashed Through Expressway Barrier Into Tree (Times Ledger)

In the Region, Out of Town

• Yonkers, NY: Driver Fatally Strikes 66-Year-Old Cyclist (LoHud)
• Suffolk County, NY: 5-Year-Old LI Boy Dies From Injuries After Drugged Driving Rear-End Crash (Post)
• Cortlandt, NY: Driver Plunges Car Off Road Embankment; Charged With DWI (LoHud)
• Garden City, NY: Lawyer in Queens Hate-Crime Trial Charged With DWI (Post)
• Central Islip, NY: LI Man Driving Drunk With Child Fatally Strikes Pedestrian (WPIX)
• Columbia, TN: Man Tries Killing Girlfriend By Running Her Down in Convenience Store (News)

Following Up

• 68-Year-Old Pedestrian Killed in Forest Hills Crash Identified (Times Ledger)
• LI Driver Whose Drunk Driving Crash Injured Four Avoids Jail Time, Sentenced to Probation (TRD 1, 2)

Other News

• National Transportation Safety Board Recommends Cell Phone Ban, Citing Dangers of Hands-Free Use (AP)
• Related: Texting While Driving Poses Greater Crash Risk Than Talking: Research (Medical Daily)
• Cell Phone Ban Would Be Almost Impossible to Enforce: Law Enforcement (HuffPo)
• MIT Scientists Developing Technology to Predict Red-Light Running (News)

* Based on latest available reports