Two hit-and-run drivers struck and killed pedestrians — one in Queens and another in the Bronx — in separate incidents on New Year’s Day. According to Streetsblog.org, the first fatal pedestrian accident happened in the early morning hours of Jan. 1 when a driver struck a 68-year-old man on Linden Boulevard at Ashford Street in East New York.
First Two Traffic Fatalities of 2026
Police said the driver left the scene before EMTs arrived. The victim was transported to Brookdale medical where he died from his injuries. About three hours later, the driver of an SUV struck two men in Queens and kept driving. One of the pedestrians died from his injuries and the other was severely injured. The victims, both in their 20s, were on 37th Avenue and crossing 102nd Street in Corona when the driver of the SUV hit them while heading southbound on 102nd Street.
One man died at the scene and the other man, 24, was transported to Elmhurst Hospital in critical condition, police said. The two victims in these incidents were the first road fatalities of 2026 in New York City, Streetsblog reports, adding that there are about 230 reported crashes in the city each day and that on New Year’s Day 2025, there were 184 reported crashes injuring eight bicyclists, nine pedestrians and 98 motorists.
Liability and Compensation in Hit-and-Run Cases
A hit-and-run occurs when a driver involved in a motor vehicle accident leaves the scene without stopping to provide contact information, assist injured parties or report the incident to law enforcement. Under New York Vehicle and Traffic Law Section 600, leaving the scene of an accident without reporting it can result in misdemeanor or felony charges, depending on the severity of the incident. Drivers are legally obligated to stop immediately, exchange information, and call the police if necessary.
In a hit-and-run collision, the driver and vehicle owner are both responsible parties even if the owner was not driving when the accident occurred. If the driver was on the job and/or operating a company vehicle at the time, his or her employer can also be held liable. When the driver is apprehended in a hit-and-run case, 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 though the driver has not been identified) or through a quasi-state agency if there is no motor vehicle in the victim’s household. You should consult a personal injury lawyer immediately to protect your rights, before communicating with your insurance company, or any insurance company.
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. It is in the best interest of injured victims and their families in such cases to contact an experienced personal injury lawyer before contacting the people responsible for the injuries, and definitely before contacting or communicating with any insurance company, or their lawyers, investigators, or adjusters.
Pedestrian accident victims and their families should 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 54 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 $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 recovered $1,500,000 for a lady who was hurt by a bus.
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). 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. Also, we got a $1,400,000 verdict in a motorcycle accident.
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, paraplegia cases 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.
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1-800-RADIO-LAW, 1-888-WYPADEK, OR 1-800-LAS-LEYES
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