An elementary school child was struck by a hit-and-run driver in Coney Island as he walked home from school with his grandmother. According to Streetsblog.org, the driver kept going and fled the scene even as witnesses attempted to flag her down. Witnesses said the boy had left his school, which was just a block from the intersection of West 20th Street and Mermaid Avenue, and was waiting for the light with his grandmother.
Pedestrian Had the Right of Way
The light changed and the boy began to cross West 20th Street, but was struck
by the driver of a sedan as she sped northbound through the red light. A witness said the driver also ran over the boy’s foot with her back tire. Witnesses described the chaotic post-crash scene with the 10-year-old boy screaming in pain and crying and holding on to his grandmother for comfort.
The driver slowed down for barely a second and sped away. Police are still investigating this pedestrian accident. Our thoughts and prayers are with the injured child and his family. We wish him the very best for a speedy and complete recovery.
Danger in School Zones
The site of this incident is near several schools. Streetsblog analyzed crash data to reveal that streets near schools are more dangerous on average compared to other city streets. On school days, during the 8 a.m. hour, when hundreds of students stream into 1,600 city-run public schools, there are 57% more crashes and 25% percent more injuries per mile on streets near schools compared to others. This trend largely disappears on days when schools are closed. The disparity continues during the so-called “pick-up” period thanks to an increase in the number of cars on the road.
Streetsblog.org has reported that the 60th Precinct, where this most recent accident occurred, is a dangerous place for a child. So far this year there have been 711 reported crashes there involving 26 bicyclists, 57 pedestrians and 206 motorists, according to city statistics. Since 2018, there have been 15 crashes in which two bicyclists and two motorists were injured at just the intersection of W. 20th Street and Mermaid Avenue.
Hit-and-Run Crashes
The driver involved and the vehicle owner in a hit-and-run collision 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 though the driver has not been identified) or through a quasi-state agency if there is no motor vehicle in the victim’s household. Our law firm recovered $2,000,000 (two million dollars) in a hit-and-run accident.
Contacting an Experienced Lawyer
If you or a loved one has been injured in a pedestrian accident or bicycle 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.
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.
For over 50 years, our skilled accident attorneys have established a proven track record of helping injured victims get fair compensation for their losses. Our law firm 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 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 out of a $300,000 insurance policy 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 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://nyc.streetsblog.org/2022/09/15/hit-and-run-driver-injures-a-kid-on-his-way-home-from-school-in-coney-island/