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.

A taxi driver crashed into a light pole at the corner of the Bowery and East 3rd Street, injuring pedestrians, according to a witness. Photo: ##http://www.boweryboogie.com/2012/12/cab-crashes-into-bowery-light-pole-last-night-injuring-pedestrians/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+BoweryBoogieALowerEastSideChronicle+%28Bowery+Boogie%29##Bowery Boogie##

Fatal Crashes (1 Killed This Week, 146 This Year, 12 Drivers Charged*)

Dyker Heights: Motorcyclist Hector Rivera, 37, Struck by SUV Driver; “No Criminality” (Advance, Post)
Williamsburg: Cyclist Struck in August Died From Injuries; “No Criminality Suspected” (Streetsblog)***

Injuries, Arrests and Property Damage

East Flatbush: Driver Strikes Pedestrian, Leaving Him Unconscious; “No Criminality” (Post Blotter)
Borough Park: Pedestrian, 60, Seriously Injured by Hit-and-Run Driver; AIS Requested (@NYScanner)
East Village: Cab Driver Crashes Into Light Pole, Injures Pedestrians (Bowery Boogie)**
Parkchester: Man Hit, Critically Injured by Van Driver; AIS Dispatched (DNA, @NYScanner)
Unionport: Pedestrian Struck, Seriously Injured on Ellis Avenue (DNA)
Forest Hills: Pedestrian Hit, Transported to Hospital in Serious Condition (@NYScanner)
East Flatbush: School Bus-Dollar Van Collision Leaves Five Children Injured (DNA)
Morrisania: Five Kids Hurt When Driver Rear-Ends School Bus; Eighth Bus Crash Since October (DNA)
Great Kills: Collision Leaves Two Pinned in Car (Advance)
Charleston: Drunk Driver Charged With DWI After Slamming Into Pole, Refusing Breathalyzer (Advance)

In the Region, Out of Town

Boston: City Council Members Honor Deceased Cyclist, Call for Data-Driven Safety Measures (Globe)
Philadelphia: Pizza Deliveryman Struck by Hit-and-Run Driver, Left With Brain Damage (News)
Englewood, NJ: NJ Transit Bus Driver Falls Asleep, Nearly Drives Off Overpass (NBC NY)
Green Brook, NJ: Police Search for Hit-and-Run Driver Who Struck Pedestrian in Crosswalk (NJ.com)
Princeton, NJ: Authorities Use “Black Box” Data to Help Convict DWI Killer (Broadsheet Daily)
Los Angeles: Driver Charged With Manslaughter for Driving With Pedestrian’s Body on Hood (News)

Following Up

Tour Bus Driver Found Not Guilty in Bronx Crash That Killed 15 (News, NYT)
Kevin Spellman Verdict Highlights Continued Weakness of Drunk Driving Cases (Streetsblog)
SI Motorist Whose DWI Crash Killed Teen Passenger Sentenced to 10 Years (Advance)
Driver Who Crashed Stolen Cab in Union Square Tells Jury He Was Drunk, High (Gothamist)
Lawyer for Curb-Jumping Manhattan Driver Blames Deceased Victim for “Negligence” (Gothamist)

Other News

Citing Baseless AAA Report, Lawsuit Seeks to “Shut Down” Red Light Cameras (Post)
Lander: School Rezonings Put Kids at Risk From Fourth Avenue Traffic (Bklyn Spoke)
TA Scavengers to Document Harrowing Conditions on Deadly Queens Boulevard (DNA)
GGW’s David Alpert: We Don’t Have to Live With Roads That Are Killing Us (WaPo)

*Based on latest available reports
**Incident in which a vehicle left the roadway
***This fatality is reflected in the annual, but not weekly, figure