A pedestrian was hit and killed in a collision with an MTA bus in Queens in the early hours of Monday. According to a New York Post article, the gruesome incident involved the victim being trapped and dragged for a distance under a westbound Q33 bus that was turning from Roosevelt Avenue onto 75th Street at around 2:50 a.m. Officials said that the 55-year-old bus driver struck the victim in the Jackson Heights intersection and had kept driving before he realized he’d hit a man.
The driver pulled over after he was alerted that there was someone caught under his wheels. First responders rushed to the scene and freed the man, but the victim died from his injuries. He was pronounced dead at Elmhurst Medical Center. The investigation into this fatal accident is ongoing and the driver has not been charged. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victim’s family for their terrible loss.
MTA’s Dismal Bus Accident Record
A 2018 New York Post report found that MTA buses were involved in approximately 22,000 accidents in a period of over 31 months. MTA records show that in the three years starting in 2015, MTA buses had injured 2,520 people — nearly 3 people each day in 21,823 collisions and other incidents. These bus crashes also resulted in 14 fatalities during that time.
The New York City Department of Transportation in a report released in 2017 estimates that between 2012 and 2014 there were 497 pedestrian fatalities, accounting for more than half of the total 889 traffic-related fatalities in NYC. The types of vehicles involved were identified in 77% of the pedestrian fatalities here. Nine percent of these pedestrian fatalities were due to bus collisions while 78% were due to car crashes.
Steps to Take after a Pedestrian Accident
Pedestrian accident victims, especially when hit by large vehicles, tend to suffer serious and catastrophic injuries with long-term consequences. A pedestrian involved in these types of accidents may sustain head injuries, internal injuries, spinal cord trauma, broken bones, etc., which can leave him or her temporarily or permanently disabled. Immediately after your injury incident, you should protect your rights by following these steps
Obtain a copy of the police report for your records. Ensure that your account of the accident as well as your name is noted on the report. Photographs and any physical evidence (such as torn or stained clothing) from the accident site are extremely valuable to proving fault and backing up your account of what happened. Get prompt medical attention and treatment for your injuries. In the event your injuries are serious, you may want to have a friend or family member gather important information from the scene including photographs, insurance proof/details of the other parties, driver’s license, vehicle license plate, etc. Your attorney can also help collect these details for you.
Contact an Experienced Lawyer
You should also keep all invoices and receipts for the expenses related to your injuries and treatment. Document all your losses carefully. Promptly contact an experienced pedestrian accident lawyer, who will stay on top of the investigation and ensure that your legal rights and best interests are protected. 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.
Please remember that you can file a personal injury lawsuit even if you were not walking in a crosswalk at the time of the collision. Our law firm has secured compensation for pedestrians who were not walking in a crosswalk when their injury crash occurred. We have recovered millions of dollars for pedestrians who were not in crosswalks.
How a Pedestrian Accident Lawyer can Help
If you or a loved one has been injured in a bus accident due to a careless or distracted driver or if you have lost a loved one in a pedestrian accident, 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.
Our skilled accident attorneys have established a proven track record of helping injured victims get fair compensation for their losses for over 49 years. 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.
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 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://nypost.com/2019/03/04/pedestrian-run-over-killed-by-mta-bus-in-queens/
https://nypost.com/2018/03/03/mta-buses-crashed-more-than-21k-times-in-just-3-years/