Ten people suffered various injuries in a Midtown pedestrian accident after, officials said, a driver plowed a stolen SUV into them near Grand Central Terminal the evening of Aug. 1. According to a WABC news report, the driver Kyle Fernandez, 20, is being held in custody and is facing several charges in connection with the collision including reckless endangerment and driving without a license while under the influence of drugs.
Police Pursuit and Crash
Officials stated that the 10 victims here were transported to a local hospital. Fernandez drove the vehicle through the intersection of East 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue before the collision, based on the news report. The victims, ages six to 72, sustained non-life-threatening injuries, officials said. The vehicle driven by Fernandez was reportedly stolen from the Bronx last month, police said.
When officials tried to stop the car earlier, Fernandez drove away striking a bicyclist and then a taxicab before jumping a curb and hitting the pedestrians. He then made a U-turn in the middle of the busy intersection and went the wrong way up Lexington Avenue. The pursuit ended after he collided head on with another car. Passersby sprang into action and grabbed the driver as he tried to run away from the scene.
Fernandez is facing a number of charges including reckless endangerment, leaving the scene of an accident, fleeing from an officer, criminal possession of stolen property, resisting arrest, operating a motor vehicle while impaired, operating a vehicle without a license and driving a motor vehicle across a sidewalk.
Driving while impaired is one of the most common causes of pedestrian accidents that results in major injuries or even fatalities. Victims of such accidents may suffer long-term or lifelong disabilities and injuries may include head trauma, spinal cord damage, multiple broken bones, internal organ damage, etc. Pedestrian accident victims are often unable to return to work for an extended period of time. In some cases, victims may not be able to return to work at all, leading to financial distress for their families.
Compensation for Victims
Injured victims of pedestrian accidents can seek compensation from at-fault parties for damages including, but not limited to, medical expenses, lost wages and benefits, hospitalization, rehabilitation, permanent injuries, disabilities, past and future pain and suffering, etc. Families that have lost loved ones in pedestrian accidents can seek compensation for damages such as lost future income, medical and funeral costs, pain and suffering, etc.
When the driver is apprehended in a hit-and-run collision, he or she can be held financially liable for the injuries, damages and losses caused. Such drivers can be held financially responsible whether or not they are arrested and/or charged. If a hit-and-run driver has injured you, please remember that you can seek compensation through the uninsured motorist clause of your auto insurance policy (even if the driver has not been identified) or through a quasi-state agency if there is no motor vehicle in the victim’s household.
Pedestrian accident victims and their families should also remember that they can seek compensation for injuries or losses in collisions even if the victim was not walking in a marked crosswalk and even if the driver involved in collision was not charged. Our law firm recovered the full one million dollar insurance policy for a girl who was not in the crosswalk when a motor vehicle hit her.
Contacting an Experienced Lawyer
If you or a loved one has been injured in a pedestrian accident, or if you have lost a loved one in an auto accident caused by a negligent (careless) driver, the experienced New York personal injury attorneys at the Law Offices of Kenneth A. Wilhelm can help you better understand your legal rights and options, and also fight hard to recover just compensation for you.
For over 51 years, our skilled accident attorneys have established a proven track record of helping injured victims get fair compensation for their losses. We recently recovered $5,600,000 for a bicyclist who was hit by a van, and $2,550,000 for another victim of a truck accident, and $3,000,000 for a pedestrian who was hit by a car, and $2,000,000 in a hit-and-run accident, and the full $1,000,000 insurance policy for a pedestrian who was hit by a truck, and $4,625,000 for a driver who was in a car and was hit by a van, and $2,500,000 for a man who fell through an improperly secured hole.
We also obtained $295,000 in compensation for the victim of a bicycle dooring accident (where a car door opens into the path of a bicyclist). Also, one of our clients obtained a verdict for $43,940,000 and another of our clients got a verdict for $23,500,000, both in medical malpractice cases.
Please contact us TOLL FREE 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-WORK-4-YOU (1-800-967-5496). WE CAN EVEN COME TO YOU. There is no attorneys’ fee unless we recover money for you. We can also help with personal injury, lead poisoning and medical malpractice cases including, brachial plexus palsy (Erb’s palsy) and cerebral palsy cases in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, or Florida. If you have been seriously injured in any of the 50 U.S. states, please call us and we will try to help you with your case.
Other TOLL FREE phone numbers for us are:
1-800-RADIO-LAW, 1-888-WYPADEK, OR 1-800-LAS-LEYES
Please visit us at: www.WORK4YOULAW.com
Source: https://abc7ny.com/nyc-accident-car-strikes-pedestrians-42nd-and-lexington-breaking-news/13591512/