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Two hit-and-run incidents in Brooklyn and Queens have left two men dead this weekend. The Brooklyn accident was in the Carnarsie section - stolen car chase/drag race, where the cars' speeds were around 70-80 MPH, resulted in a man riding a mountain bike on Avenue L getting hit. A witness told the NY Post that the stolen car dragged the bike for a while and another witness said, "The guy went up in the air, and the bike went up in the air, and the bike came down and smashed the whole windshield." The biker did not an identification on him, and the stolen Ford Probe was abandoned (the other car was driven by a friend, and police believe the Probe's driver left in the friend's car).
And father of five, Leopolio Ramirez, was killed when his friend "playfully pushed him" onto 42nd Avenue in Corona, according to the Daily News. On early Sunday morning, Ramirez was hit and then dragged by the car for 200 feet, with the car leaving the scene. His friends say that Ramirez was from Chicago, but in New York to work on a construction project.
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More than 10 cyclists have been killed by cars this year. Not one cyclist has killed a pedestrian or driver.
Where are all the comments chastising the irresponsible behavior of drivers, drag racing on the street?
Had a cyclist ran a red light and knocked over a pedestrian there would be 15 comments by now.
Warning, opinion ahead! Hit and runs sure are tragic, but dog-bites-man in a city as big as the Big Apple and don't seem worthy of the attention they get at Gothamist. They also have a whiff of "if it bleeds, it leads" sensationalism. This offered as constructive criticism.
Anyone agree or disagree? I bet someone out there does lean one way or the other....
PS thanks for an interesting site.
An addendum since I didn't see the first comment before posting mine. I agree bicyclists get a bad rap in this town. My comment wasn't meant as a dis to cyclists so I hope this doesn't turn into (too much of) a bike debate. My observation was meant to be broader, eg a friend playfully pushes a friend who stumbles into traffic and dies--that's horrible. But not Gothamistworthy. Maybe Obscurestore, but not Gothamist. Discuss.
Some people learn through example especially if they lean toward empathy. (Side note: I wish people felt more of it. I truly believe more empathy could change the world.) Personally, I think any news article Gothamist chooses to link to that could allow for even a dozen of its readers to feel empathy then it's "gothamistworthy". I have playfully pushed someone before. Granted, I haven't ever been so unlucky as to have them fall into traffic, but I've been there. Perhaps, the next time I'll be aware of my surroundings a bit more now that I've been made privy to this story.
Perhaps my brain is sort of like a spam filter; the more you show it the spam, the smarter it becomes, the more it tries to avoid it entirely.
Gothamist- happy to see you calling these incidents in the first line, bummed to see you revert to 'accident' in the second.
Drivers have a responsibility for their actions, and calling a driver-induced stolen vehicle 80 mph crash 'an accident' helps drivers disavow their responsibility. Please adjust your editorial policy to reflect this.