Fort Greene Driver Hits and Injures Two People Before Fleeing on Foot

A violent driver caused chaos on Thursday afternoon in Fort Greene, injuring two pedestrians, hitting another vehicle, and then crashing into a fire hydrant before running from the scene.

Police say the owner of a black Ford Explorer hit a man at Vanderbilt and Fulton streets at around 1 p.m. on Thursday, and then sped north on Vanderbilt, hitting another man before crashed into a fire hydrant near Lafayette Avenue and fleeing on foot. One of the men, 38, suffered a broken arm and was taken to Methodist Hospital, and the other, 30, reported pain in his arm and was treated at the scene.

"It was scary to see while biking. I was behind the car that got hit," said a witness, who said it was sheer luck that no cyclists were hit.

Both of the victims are in stable condition. The NYPD has not made any arrests, the agency said.

Fort Greene and the surrounding area are terribly dangerous places. So far this year in the 35th Council District still represented by Laurie Cumbo and lacking in protected bike lanes, there have been 1,188 reported crashes, roughly eight per day, injuring 90 cyclists, 66 pedestrians and 342 motorists, killing a pedestrian and a driver. In the three blocks of the driver's rampage, there have already been 18 crashes this year, injuring three cyclists, one pedestrian, and nine motorists, according to city data.

This year has been a dangerous year for for New York, despite Mayor de Blasio's Vision Zero project, which began in 2014. The mayor's initiative to end all traffic fatalities by 2024 has lost ground, and 2021 is on pace to be the bloodiest year of de Blasio's tenure. Through July 29, 147 people have been killed on New York City streets, the most since 2013, when 146 people died over the same time period: