Police have charged a woman with failure to yield and failure to exercise due care after she drove into a mother and her baby who were crossing the street. According to a report on the Gothamist, the child, Lian Mashini, was fatally injured in the pedestrian accident the morning of May 26. Police said that the driver, 40-year-old Shannon Cocozza, was in a white Jeep Cherokee and turned left onto Abbott Street from Scarboro Avenue in the Rosebank neighborhood when she hit baby Lian and her mother.
Cocozza remained on the scene, and surveillance footage shows her getting out of her vehicle and approaching the mother and child. First responders rushed Lian and her mother to a local hospital where the baby died from her injuries. Her mother was in stable condition, officials said. The car had no apparent recent speed camera violations, according to the Gothamist.
Surge in Pedestrian Accidents
So far this year, Lian is the tenth child killed in traffic collisions — making it the highest number of children in nearly a decade, according to the group Transportation Alternatives. Through May 22, 3,177 pedestrians were injured on city streets across five boroughs, a 33% increase from last year, according to NYPD data.
Also, 87 people had been killed in collisions this year, a 4% increase compared to last year, NYPD officials said. Safety advocates view this time as a “crisis of pedestrian death.” They point specifically to drivers not observing right-of-way rules for pedestrians at crosswalks and intersection, which have resulted in tragic pedestrian collisions.
Mayor Eric Adams has agreed to invest $900 million for a citywide Streets Master Plan in this year’s budget. However, it falls short of the $3 billion that the city council said is needed. Last year, 255 people were killed in traffic accidents citywide, the deadliest year since 2014 when former mayor Bill de Blasio took office and launched the Vision Zero program, an effort to curb pedestrian fatalities across the city.
Contacting an Experienced Lawyer
Injured victims of pedestrian accidents and bicycle 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 medical and funeral costs, pain and suffering, lost future income, etc.
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. 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 and/or 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://gothamist.com/news/driver-arrested-for-crash-that-killed-baby-on-staten-island