In Memoriam: The Lives We Lost to Road Violence in 2018 [UPDATED]
Madison Lyden’s ghost bike, commemorating where she was killed by a driver in 2018. Photo: David Meyer
As the ball prepares to drop, it looks like 2018 will be the safest year ever on the roads of New York City. As of Dec. 31, 199 people died in vehicle crashes this year, according to unofficial statistics.
That's the lowest figures since the city began keeping tally in 1910, as the Automobile Age began [PDF]. The total number of traffic deaths is down nearly 12 percent from the 222 deaths in 2017. The 199 deaths include 114 people walking and 11 people biking. The cycling deaths are the lowest since 1996 at least, even as ridership has increased dramatically.
Pedestrian fatalities, meanwhile, increased slightly, from 106 last year to 114 through Dec. 31 this year. All of the cyclists and all of the pedestrians were killed by car, truck or bus drivers.
But in the almost five years since Mayor de Blasio unveiled his multi-agency “Vision Zero” effort, the overall trend is clear: The combination of broad policy reforms like speed cameras and the citywide 25 mph speed limit and targeted interventions like street redesigns and fleet modernization have brought cyclist and pedestrian fatalities to all-time lows.
The de Blasio administration should take credit for hundreds of saved lives. So should the members of Families for Safe Streets, who have spent the last four years campaigning to end the carnage.
Still, reckless drivers continue to wreak havoc on city streets. Far too often, drivers who injure and kill are absolved of responsibility by police and district attorneys.
To honor the dead, even if local prosecutors do not, we present our annual tribute to the people lost this year to violent drivers. Please share your remembrances in the comments section.
- Myriam Nino, 82, Killed Walking in Queens (Post)
- Jun Sum Yim, 77, Killed Walking in Queens (Streetsblog)
- Mercedes Dearmas, 61, Killed Walking in Manhattan (Post)
- Phil O'Reilly, 71, Killed Walking in Queens (Streetsblog)
- Kevin Flores, 13, Killed Biking in Brooklyn (Streetsblog)
- Basid Miah, 23, Killed Walking in Brooklyn (News)
- Toolia Rambarose, 70, Killed Walking in Queens (Streetsblog)
- Unnamed Female, 83, Killed Walking in Queens (Streetsblog)
- Sumiah Ali, 27, Killed Walking in Brooklyn (Streetsblog)
- Steven Morales, 36, Killed Biking in Queens (Streetsblog)
- Unnamed Male, Killed Walking in Brooklyn (Streetsblog)
- Troy Williams, 50, Killed Walking in the Bronx (News)
- Abigail Blumenstein, 4, Killed Walking in Brooklyn (Streetsblog)
- Joshua Lew, 1, Killed Walking in Brooklyn (Streetsblog)
- Unnamed Male, 50, Killed Walking in Brooklyn (Streetsblog)
- Elise Hellinger, 58, Killed Walking in Queens (Streetsblog)
- Lucille Raphael, 75, Killed Walking in Brooklyn (Brooklyn Paper)
- Willy Dominguez, 27, Killed Walking in the Bronx (AMNY)
- Dorothy Parker, 65, Killed Walking in Brooklyn (Brooklyn Paper)
- Juan Pacheco, 57, Killed Biking in Manhattan (Streetsblog)
- Carlos Vasquez, 20, Killed Biking in the Bronx (Streetsblog)
- Cellou Diallo, 8, Killed Walking in the Bronx (News)
- Leon Clark, 72, Killed Walking in the Bronx (Streetsblog)
- Giovanni Ampuero, 9, Killed Walking in Queens (Streetsblog)
- Olympia David-Ocvi, 85, Killed Walking in Manhattan (News)
- Carlos Gavilanes, 47, Killed Walking in Queens (Streetsblog)
- Shevon Bethea, 7, Killed Walking in the Bronx (Streetsblog)
- Aaron Padwee, 45, Killed Biking in Queens (Streetsblog)
- Shaena Sinclair, 33, Killed Walking in Brooklyn (Streetsblog)
- David Bloomer, 32, Killed Walking in Staten Island (Advance)
- Luz Gonzalez, 4, Killed Walking in Brooklyn (Streetsblog)
- Madeline Sershen, 17, Killed Walking in Queens (Streetsblog)
- Heriberta Ramirez, 42, Killed Walking in Staten Island (Streetsblog)
- Jose Cardoso, 32, Killed Walking in Brooklyn (Streetsblog)
- Robert Craigwell, 26, Killed Walking in Staten Island (Advance)
- Valerie Razack, 63, Killed Walking in Queens (News)
- Xellea Samonte, 23, Killed Biking in Queens (Streetsblog)
- Razija Dreskovic, 57, Killed Walking in Brooklyn (Streetsblog)
- Madison Jane Lyden, 23, Killed Biking in Manhattan (Streetsblog)
- Eucario Xelo, 65, Killed Biking in Queens (Streetsblog)
- Mitchell Agront, 52, Killed Biking in the Bronx
- Francisco Avila, 70, Killed Walking in Queens (Streetsblog)
- Raymond Bolan, 57, Killed Walking in the Bronx (News)
- Filiberto Coalt, 35, Killed Walking in Brooklyn (Streetsblog)
- Unnamed Female, 50, Killed Walking in Queens (Gothamist)
- Nissen Krakinowski, 90, Killed Walking in Brooklyn (News)
- Unnamed Pedestrian, 71, Killed Walking in Brooklyn (News 12 Brooklyn)
- Maureen Meloy, 80, Killed Walking in Manhattan (Streetsblog)
- Nahid Taghinia-Milani, 84, Killed Walking in Manhattan (Post)
- Elina Sokolov, 45, Killed Walking in Brooklyn (Streetsblog)
- Alberto Leal, 37, Killed Walking in Brooklyn (Streetsblog)
- Jinsheng Wu, 65, Killed on a Scooter in Brooklyn (Streetsblog)
- Bing Wan, 45, Killed Walking in Manhattan (Streetsblog)
- Tamika Johnson, 39, Killed Walking in Queens (Streetsblog)
- Unnamed Pedestrian, 73, Killed Walking in Manhattan (Streetsblog)
- Ruizhen Dong, 69, Killed Walking in Queens (Streetsblog)
- Isabel Duarte, 90, Killed Walking in Queens (Streetsblog)
- Alvaro Gutierrez, 52, Killed Walking in the Bronx (News)
- Juana Alland, 78, Killed Walking in Queens (Streetsblog)
- Unnamed Male, 86, Killed Walking in Queens (News)
- Niklas Ahern, 29, Killed Walking in Queens (Post)
- Ngan Leung, 90, Killed Walking in Manhattan (Streetsblog)
- Monica Holmes, 81, Killed Walking in Manhattan (Patch)
- Jorge Segundo, 52, Killed Walking in Queens (Queens Eagle)
- Zhang Chun, 56, Killed Walking in Manhattan (Streetsblog)
- Albert Poyser, 82, Killed Walking in Queens (QNS)
- Beatrice Kahn, 89, Killed Walking in the Bronx (Streetsblog)
- Iosif Morgenshteyn, 65, Killed Changing a Tire in Brooklyn (Streetsblog)
- Pedro Jimenez, 63, Killed Walking in Brooklyn (USA Today)
- Francine LaBarbara, 57, Killed Walking in Brooklyn (CBS New York)
- MD Rajon, 21, Killed Biking in Brooklyn (Streetsblog)
- Yimei Gao, 73, Killed Walking in Queens (Streetsblog)
- Yaw Acheampong, 55, Killed Walking in the Bronx (Streetsblog)
- Jong Kim, 64, Killed Walking in Manhattan (Streetsblog)
- Maria Frasca, 85, Killed Walking in the Bronx (Streetsblog)
- Gerard Gorsuch, 90, Killed Walking in Staten Island (SI Live)
- Ebenzer Edwards, 74, Killed Walking in Brooklyn (Streetsblog)
- Unnamed pedestrian, Killed Walking in Queens (Streetsblog)
- Nabil Hakim, 91, Killed Walking in Staten Island (Streetblog)
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