Kenneth Yard, 65, Killed by MTA Bus Driver and Unforgiving NYC Streets
A man who stepped out of his car onto Rockaway Boulevard was struck and killed by an MTA bus driver Sunday.
Kenneth Yard, 65, was driving at around 11:40 p.m. when he began to feel unwell and pulled over, according to the Post.
“He kept squeezing his head, his chest, stomach,” said his devastated wife, who added that he pulled over near Rockaway Boulevard and First Street in Meadowmere.
“I was wondering if he was having a heart attack,” said [Betty] Yard. Kenneth had told her that his vision had become blurry, and he began pacing around.
“I said, ‘Why is he crossing that street for? He knows he can’t cross that busy street,’ ” Yard said.
It was then that the Q113 bus struck him.
“I ran to his rescue, and he was looking up in the sky,” she said.
The speed limit on this stretch of Rockaway Boulevard is 30 mph. As is usually the case, reports don't indicate what role, if any, driver speed may have played in the collision. It's also possible that, had Yard kept driving, he may have caused an even more serious crash. (The Daily News reported that, according to police, Yard "intentionally leaped in front of the bus to end his life." As no other outlet that we've found repeated this version of the story, it could be an extreme example of NYPD leaking only those crash details -- accurate or not -- that serve to absolve the driver.)
As much as anything, the crash that killed Kenneth Yard points to the unforgiving nature of most New York City streets: Wander into the street, for any reason, regardless of your age, and the odds against your survival are unacceptably high.
This fatal crash happened in the 105th Precinct, in the City Council district represented by Donovan Richards. Earlier this month, the body of hit-and-run victim Jose Pedilla-Argueta, believed left there by a motorist, was found in the same precinct and council district.
In July, another pedestrian was killed by a hit-and-run driver on Rockaway Boulevard and 132nd Avenue in Rochdale, on the border of council districts represented by Richards and Ruben Wills. Wills has asked DOT to roll back traffic-calming measures on Rockaway Boulevard.
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