A 69-year-old pedestrian was killed in an accident in Brooklyn after she was struck by a driver who officials say was attempting an illegal U-turn. According to Streetsblog.com, police arrested the 65-year-old driver who they say was making an illegal U-turn on a busy two-way commercial street while disregarding a red light. Police say the woman was driving her vehicle west on Avenue M in Midwood the evening of Nov. 24 when she drove through the intersection of East 12th Street and tried to make a U-turn striking the pedestrian who was crossing Avenue M legally from south to north in the crosswalk.
Fatal Pedestrian Crash
The pedestrian was transported to an area hospital where she died from her injuries. The driver remained at the scene and has been charged with making the illegal turn and going through a red light in addition to failure to yield and failure to exercise due care. Streetsblog notes that the intersection where this fatal pedestrian crash took place is complicated by an angled road intersecting with Avenue M and East 12th Street from the west.
As a result, the New York City Department of Transportation has created a cross-hatched zone to better delineate the separate roadways. However, drivers tend to ignore the paint markings as the motorist who caused the collision did, according to officials. The area can be treacherous for pedestrians.
More Traffic Fatalities in 2020
Last year alone, there were 83 crashes on just the nine blocks of Avenue M between Coney Island Avenue and Ocean Avenue, injuring 14 pedestrians, three bicyclists and 18 drivers. This latest pedestrian fatality means that New York City has exceeded last year’s road fatality count of 220 for the year – despite COVID-19 lockdowns emptying out the streets for several months this year.
Road safety advocates issued a statement after this incident blasting Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Vision Zero initiative, which set an ambitious goal of eliminating all traffic deaths and serious injuries on New York City streets by 2024. Many of those killed in 2020 were pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcyclists and a vast majority died in Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx. More than half of the pedestrian deaths occurred in Brooklyn and Queens.
What the Law States
Motorists in New York are required to stop and yield the right of way to pedestrians in crosswalks and at intersections. In this case, according to the police, the driver not only made an illegal U-turn and went through a red light, but failed to yield the right of way to a pedestrian who was walking legally in a marked crosswalk at the intersection.
Pedestrians have the right of way in all crosswalks and intersections with marked or unmarked crosswalks. The law also states that motorists turning right or left at an intersection should always look for pedestrians and yield the right of way to them. Pedestrians have the right of way at intersections, even if drivers have a green light.
Some of the deadliest pedestrian accidents occur in crosswalks and at street intersections. Failure to yield the right of way to pedestrians is one of the most common causes of vehicle versus pedestrian accidents in crosswalks and at street intersections. Driver impairment, inattention and/or distraction tend to be cited as factors in their failure to see a pedestrian who is crossing at an intersection.
Contacting an Experienced Lawyer
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.
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.
Pedestrian accident victims and their families should remember that they may be able to 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 the 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 49 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 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.
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Source: https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2020/11/25/pedestrian-killed-in-brooklyn-but-this-time-the-driver-is-charged/