In the "city that never sleeps," neither do car drivers, causing mayhem and mowing down pedestrians and other road users around the clock. Here's the tick-tock of the weekend carnage toll, which fell heavily in our car sewer par excellence, Queens. Take a breath now. Unfortunately, it's only going to get worse after Labor Day when people return for the start of school:
- At 1:50 Friday morning two riders of an illegal ATV who supposedly were being pursued by cops hit a tractor trailer on the Queens side of the QBB. Both died after being ejected from the vehicle, and now the officers who were trailing them are on modified duty. (NYDN, ABC, NBC, PIX, NYT, others) "We do not want our officers to chase them," the NYPD's Chief of Patrol Jeffrey Maddrey told reporters in June. "We don't want to create a bigger problem by chasing them. So we just have to use different strategies."
- On Friday night at a few minutes before 11, a hit-and-run driver struck and critically injured a 63-year-old man who was crossing Broadway at 64th Street in Woodside. Police are looking for a light-colored vehicle.
- On Saturday afternoon at 12:50, a car driver struck and killed a 22-year-old rider of an upright scooter who was trying to cross dangerous 18th Avenue at 74th Street in Bensonhurst.
- On Saturday night at about 6:15, an SUV driver ran over and killed 4-year-old boy at 147th Street and Foch Boulevard in South Jamaica, supposedly after the youngster darted into the road. The Post touts "exclusive details."
- At 4:20 on Sunday morning, an allegedly drunk driver jumped the curb and plowed into three young men standing on the corner of Northern Boulevard and 86th Street in Jackson Heights, critically injuring them. The crash got a lot of coverage owing to graphic video and the DUI charges cops brought against the driver. (CBS, ABC, NBC, amNY, others)
In other weekend news:
- The Daily News did big takeout on the city's odious Stipulated Fine program, which has made parking tickets a cost of doing business for package carriers for the past 21 years.
- The MTA wants cabbies squeezed by congestion pricing to become bus drivers. (NY Post)
- Inflation has sent car costs over $10 grand a year, says AAA. Now's the time to go car-free... (Zero Hedge)
- Do congestion pricing, but do right by The Bronx, says the News's Editorial Board.
- Speaking of the MTA, Janno Lieber looked at the bright side of life beneath the fiscal cliff. (amNY)
- New York needs more green for parks, argue CM Diana Ayala and New Yorkers for Parks's Adam Ganser.
- A Brooklyn man was charged in the Aug. 10 hit-and-run crash in Ridgewood that injured three, including a toddler and her mom. He was allegedly fleeing a traffic stop. (QNS, NBC, WINS, others)
- Wagner Park in Battery Park City is the latest Manhattan waterfront battleground. (The City)
- Assaulted by cars, the Earth strikes back by devouring cars (and much else, too). (NY Post)
- The upzoning of industrial Astoria is "on life support," City Limits reports.
- Finally, the Sanitation Department becomes the last people on social media to dunk on Dr. Oz: (Via Twitter)
