Video Shows Driver Hitting Pedestrian in Brooklyn Crosswalk. Does NYPD Care?


A driver hit a pedestrian who was crossing with the right of way in Brooklyn on Saturday, but it’s unclear if NYPD filed charges or is pursuing an investigation.

The crash happened at the intersection of Marlborough Road and Beverley Road, a signalized crossing. As shown in the above video, sent to us by reader Olgierd Bilanow, the victim (on the far sidewalk, wearing light-colored clothing, at the top of the frame) was crossing Beverley when the driver of a white van struck him while turning left. FDNY has not responded to a query about injuries to the victim.

Writes Bilanow:

The pedestrian was taken by ambulance to the hospital. My security cameras recorded the incident and I showed the video to the police officers at the scene. You clearly see the pedestrian wait for the light, look for oncoming traffic, and then cross in the crosswalk. Two-thirds of the way through the van turns and knocks him over. From what I could tell the driver was allowed to leave once the police took down their report and so far the 70th Precinct has not contacted me for the footage.

Under the Right of Way Law, it is a misdemeanor for a driver to cause physical injury to a person who is walking with the right of way. But NYPD does not investigate most crashes in which pedestrians and cyclists are injured by motorists.

Because the Collision Investigation Squad was not dispatched to the scene, the NYPD public information office had no record of the crash. Attempts to reach detectives at the 70th Precinct were unsuccessful.

With NYPD showing no interest so far in video evidence that’s known to be available, this looks like another collision that won’t get much attention from police.

  • Alexander Vucelic

    Bratton

  • Zero Vision

    The mayor needs to do a better job getting NYPD on board with this idea that a pedestrian in the crosswalk with the signal has the legal right of way.

    This isn’t about everyone doing his part. This is about the NYPD doing its job.

  • Matthias

    So the pedestrian crossed with the light and wore light-colored clothing, but let’s not jump to conclusions. There may have been mitigating factors such as lack of a helmet and/or use of a cell phone or toy scooter.

  • WalkingNPR

    It’s hard to tell from the video, but it also may have been sunny/rainy/cloudy/too hot/too cool/too fall-ish.

  • Not to mention there could have been unexpected darkness.

  • J

    De Blasio did his part. remember. He marched in a parade a made speech. He’s done, right?

    http://www.streetsblog.org/2015/11/16/on-day-of-remembrance-mayor-pledges-to-take-vision-zero-a-lot-farther/

  • ganghiscon

    And the driver probably forgot which pedal is the brake.

  • armyvet00

    if 25 people were murdered by a serial killer we’d be all over it. But drivers…. meh.

  • djx

    Maybe the way the pillar between the front and side window blocked the drivers view? Not much can be done about that – just a fact of life.

  • MatthewEH

    Disagreed. The driver could have taken the turn at a moderate speed instead of accelerating into it. In a residential neighborhood no less.

    I was out for a walk no more than two blocks away on Saturday morning…

  • ganghiscon

    The man was on the corner and starting to enter the crosswalk when the van was still stopped at least fifteen feet behind another car at the red light. So I don’t think it was the pillar between the windows that did it. Perhaps he has a pillar welded to his face that prevents him from looking to his left.

  • Andrew

    The law requires drivers making turns to yield to pedestrians.

    A driver with a blind spot has two options. He can operate on the working assumption that his blind spot is occupied, and if his assumption was wrong then he may have lost a few seconds. Or he can operate on the working assumption that his blind spot is vacant, and if his assumption was wrong then he may have killed somebody.

    Only one of those options is a responsible option.

    I suspect that this might not have been the first time that this driver has failed to yield. The 40th Precinct issues 3-4 tickets per day for failure to yield to pedestrians, which is nowhere near enough to persuade drivers that it’s in their own interest to yield to pedestrians legally crossing the street.

  • Motorisims

    The pedestrian made the grave mistake of wearing white.Pedestrians need to wear bright colors AFTER DARK, and dark colors in the daytime. Carry a change of clothes if you don’t expect to be back home before dark.

    Car colors, however, can go either way.

  • Maggie

    It’s November. The sun will set in 5 hours after this driver runs over a pedestrian crossing the street. New Yorkers should do their part, keep this in mind, and stay in their homes and avoid the crosswalks till April

    Also, people lose interest. The driver has (probably) not hit anyone for ten whole months already this year!

  • Andrew

    Perhaps the driver was thinking about his evening plans, so practically speaking it may as well have been dark. Similarly, the pedestrian may have been thinking about a phone call he made earlier in the week!

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

NYPD to Brooklyn Seniors: Stop Getting Killed by Motorists

By Brad Aaron |
Drivers keep killing seniors in southern Brooklyn and the NYPD’s response was to admonish seniors to be more careful crossing the street. DNAinfo reports that as of September 9, eight of 15 pedestrians killed by drivers this year in the Brooklyn South command were age 65 or older. To combat the trend, precincts in the area […]