The Weekly Carnage

The Weekly Carnage is a Friday round-up of motor vehicle violence across the five boroughs. For more on the origins and purpose of this column, please read About the Weekly Carnage.

Fatal Crashes (3 Killed This Week; 213 This Year; 15 Drivers Charged*)

  • Woodside: Noshat Nahian, 8, Struck by Unlicensed Tractor-Trailer Driver in Northern Boulevard Crosswalk While Walking to School; Driver Charged With Unlicensed Operation (Streetsblog)
  • Cypress Hills: Elvis Batista-Francisco, 22, Struck on Moped in Hit-and-Run (News, WABC, News 12)
  • Todt Hill: Vincent Gagliardi, 20, Killed in Two-Vehicle Crash; Two Others Injured (Advance, Post)
An Access-a-Ride Driver jumped the curb on 34th Street, injuring one pedestrian. Photo: ##http://gothamist.com/2013/12/19/two_injured_in_access-a-ride_crash.php##Gothamist##
An Access-a-Ride van driver jumped the curb on 34th Street, injuring a pedestrian. Photo: ##http://gothamist.com/2013/12/19/two_injured_in_access-a-ride_crash.php##Gothamist##

Injuries, Arrests, and Property Damage

  • Crown Heights: 65-Year-Old Woman Critically Injured in Hit-and-Run on Eastern Parkway (News, DNA)
  • Jamaica: Livery Cab Driver Loses Legs When Struck While Changing Tire;  No Charges (News)
  • Murray Hill: Access-a-Ride Driver Jumps Curb on 34th Street, Seriously Injuring Pedestrian (Gothamist)**
  • Holland Tunnel: Drunk Driver Crashes Jeep Into Tunnel Walls, Rear-Ends Vehicle (DNA, Post Blotter)
  • Midwood: Three-Vehicle Crash on Ocean Avenue Leaves Livery Cab Passengers Injured (Bklyn Daily)
  • Glen Oaks: Pedestrian Struck, Critically Injured; CIS Requested (@NYScanner)
  • Chelsea: Five Seriously Injured in Two-Car Collision (DNA)
  • Ditmas Park: FDNY Responds to Car on Fire (@NYScanner)
  • Greenridge: 13 Injured, One Seriously, in Crash Involving Van With Several Passengers (Advance)
  • Rego Park: Police Chase Ends on Queens Boulevard After Men Steal Car at Gunpoint (Times Ledger)
  • Williamsburg: Garbage Truck Erupts in Flames (@AlwaysActions)
  • Bay Ridge: Chain-Reaction Crashes Leads to 31 Car Pile-Up on Gowanus Expressway (News, Post)

* Based on latest available reports
** Incident in which a vehicle left the roadway

  • anon

    To cut down on speeding, have some cop cars equipped like this:
    http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/40/4032.asp

    The “Gatso Millia”
    moving photo radar system is installed in an inconspicuous sedan in the
    hopes of catching nearby motorists by surprise, photographing them on
    the highway unaware of what happened until a citation appears in the
    mail weeks later…most drivers slam on
    the brakes before approaching a known speed camera site, only to speed
    up after passing the device in order to make up for the lost time. The
    new system is meant to create roving speed traps that even careful
    drivers would find difficult to avoid.

  • Daniel

    If you are wondering about Access-A-Ride read the last comment in this thread: http://www.brownstoner.com/blog/2008/08/accessaride-van/

    Basically the drivers are badly paid, have crazy routing done from Texas and have crazy pressure to make their pickups on time. From that post: “5:00 am pickup in bklyn,5:10 dropoff in manhattan, 5:20 pickup in staten island and 5:30 dropoff in manhattan”. The drivers who stay at it are both desperate for a job and need to make impossible deadlines to keep those jobs.

    Obviously none of this is an excuse for running red lights, speeding, turning into pedestrians in the crosswalk and the multitude of other offenses we see these drivers commit on a daily basis. But we also need to recognize that this isn’t a problem of a bunch of bad drivers but instead a system that isn’t working. Various district attorneys have been unable or unwilling to shut down the private company running the service and the MTA has been unwilling to replace this contractor with a responsible one. That is the problem that needs solving. Access-A-Ride seemingly retaining the worst drivers in the world is a symptom.

  • Steven Fernandez

    Saturday morning I was hit by a hit and run Livery cab while driving my motorcycle north on Broadway near 163 St, Washington Heights. I was seriously injured and now facing reconstructive surgery. My cycle was totaled. No mention in the news.

  • klfnd

    Where is the year end total of people killed, and drivers charged? It only goes to 12/13 and then starts up in January again,

  • Lindsay

    I was hit that week, 1 year ago today, in a hit and run in East Williamsburg

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