Labor Day weekend was full of death on New York City streets this year, as six people lost their lives in fatal collisions, according to police.
The carnage began on Thursday, Aug. 29, when 55-year-old Jacqueline Healy of upstate Jamestown was struck by a Ford pickup truck driver while traversing Cross Bay Boulevard at Pitkin Avenue in Ozone Park, Queens. The driver, 47-year-old Keith Ryan of upstate Greene County, was arrested and charged with possessing and motoring with a phony driver’s license.
The next day, a 63-year-old man was crossing Broadway at Myrtle Avenue in Bushwick, Brooklyn when he was struck by a Chevrolet SUV driver, whom police say had the green light. The man was taken to Woodhull Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries on Sept. 1.
Then, early Saturday morning, two teenagers were operating a moped on the Cross Island Parkway in Whitestone, Queens when the 15-year-old male driver lost control and struck a barrier wall, causing both to be ejected.
The passenger, 19-year-old Giselle Flores of Flushing, was pronounced dead on the scene. The driver, 15-year-old Andy Rodriguez of Flushing, was pronounced dead at Flushing Hospital.
Later, on Sunday, first responders discovered a cyclist lying in the roadway on Union Avenue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn when he was struck by the speeding driver of a Volkswagen SUV, which then careened into an unoccupied parked car. The 46-year-old cyclist was taken to Kings County Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Union Avenue’s bike lane cuts off at Broadway, just north of where the crash took place, leaving cyclists to ride in mixed traffic.
That same morning, a motorcyclist was struck by a hit-and-run driver on the Jackie Robinson Parkway while the unknown vehicle was changing lanes. The 28-year-old motorcyclist was ejected from his bike and sustained severe traumatic injuries; he was pronounced dead on the scene. The perp fled the scene and has not been caught.
Traffic crashes have killed 177 people on Big Apple streets this year, up nearly 5% from the same period last year, according to the NYPD. That includes 78 pedestrians, 37 drivers or passengers in cars, and 25 drivers or passengers on motorcycles.
Collisions have killed 16 cyclists this year, the vast majority of them on e-bikes, according to police, as well as 18 people riding stand-up scooters or mopeds.
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