Recent Streetsblog NYC posts about Traffic Justice

Will NYPD Charge Driver Who Rammed Woman on Sidewalk and Left Scene?

By Brad Aaron | May 14, 2015 | 45 Comments

A motorist who deliberately drove down a Manhattan sidewalk, rammed a pedestrian, left the scene and reportedly hit a second person in Brooklyn might not be charged with a crime, according to one of the victims. Heather Hensl was walking on Beekman Street near William Street on April 13 when a motorist struck her, knocking her to the ground, lacerating her head and fracturing […]

No Felony Charge From Queens DA for Repeat Reckless Driver Who Hit Senior

By Brad Aaron | May 13, 2015 | 4 Comments

Queens District Attorney Richard Brown agreed to drop felony charges against an unlicensed and allegedly impaired driver who ran over a senior and tried to flee the scene. Brown allowed the motorist to plead to a misdemeanor. On October 21, 2014, William Stafford “plowed his 2005 BMW into an 89-year-old man” at the intersection of 25th Avenue and […]

Parents of Lucian Merryweather: Our Son’s Killer Should Never Drive Again

By Brad Aaron | May 8, 2015 | 5 Comments

This week, Anthony Byrd was formally sentenced for fatally striking 9-year-old Lucian Merryweather on a Brooklyn sidewalk. On November 2, 2013, Byrd drove a Ford SUV into two cars and a building after swerving to avoid two people in a crosswalk at DeKalb and Clermont Avenues. He then made a U-turn and drove against traffic […]

New Families For Safe Streets Campaign Defends Right of Way Law

By Stephen Miller | Apr 30, 2015 | 16 Comments

Families For Safe Streets released videos and posters this morning defending the Right of Way Law, in response to a campaign by Transport Workers Union Local 100, which wants MTA bus drivers exempted from the law. The Right of Way Law, passed unanimously by the City Council and signed by Mayor Bill de Blasio last June, allows for low-level misdemeanor charges against drivers who […]

Vance Upgrades Charges, Secures Manslaughter Indictment for LES Crash

By Brad Aaron | Apr 28, 2015 | 5 Comments

Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance secured a manslaughter indictment against a driver accused of killing a pedestrian in a high-speed crash on the Lower East Side. A Vance press release says that on the evening of November 24, 2014, Danny Lin was allegedly speeding northbound on the Bowery in a BMW when he drove into 57-year-old […]

A Bus Design Flaw Is No Reason to Gut the Right of Way Law

By Brad Aaron | Apr 23, 2015 | 25 Comments

As part of its campaign to make it legal for bus drivers to injure and kill people, the Transport Workers Union says flawed bus design is to blame for bus drivers hitting pedestrians while turning. According to WABC, the TWU claims “half of all recent bus accidents” in NYC and nationwide occurred because drivers were prevented from seeing […]

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