Richard Oates, Can Reng Ma, Rodney Graham, and Thomas McAnultyRichard Oates, Can Reng Ma, Rodney Graham, Thomas McAnulty
Seventeen people died in New York City traffic in January, and 3,750 were injured, according to DOT’s Vision Zero View crash data map.
DOT reported 11 pedestrians and two cyclists killed by city motorists last month, and 1,084 injured, compared to 10 deaths and 1,043 injuries in January 2015.
Of eight fatal crashes on surface streets reported by Streetsblog and other outlets, one motorist was known to have been charged for causing a death.
Based on NYPD and media accounts, at least four victims were likely walking or cycling with the right of way when they were struck. The truck driver who killed cyclist Can Reng Ma was charged with felony leaving the scene, but was not charged for taking a life. The motorist who killed the unnamed Manhattan pedestrian was charged with manslaughter, felony leaving the scene, and DWI. The driver who killed Alfiya Djuraeva was charged with failure to yield.
A witness told the press Andrea Kremen went airborne for 70 yards after she was hit by a driver on the Upper East Side. The driver was not charged. Rodney Graham's girlfriend said he survived being hit by one driver but was struck again by another motorist, who fled the scene, as he tried to reach the sidewalk on Atlantic Avenue. Before filing charges, NYPD offered the hit-and-run driver who killed Can Reng Ma a preemptive "didn't see him" defense. Thomas McAnulty, killed by a motorcycle rider on Amsterdam Avenue, was "best friends" with his 7-year-old grandson, the victim's grieving son told the press.
Four motor vehicle occupants died in the city in January, according to DOT, and 2,666 were injured.
Brad Aaron began writing for Streetsblog in 2007, after years as a reporter, editor, and publisher in the alternative weekly business. Brad adopted New York's dysfunctional traffic justice system as his primary beat for Streetsblog. He lives in Manhattan.