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Last Friday, bicyclist Lawrence Yoo was hit by a bus at Ninth Avenue and 39th Street and suffered serious injuries. His family was contacted about the incident not by the police but by hospital staff. They also found the police's "incident report" - in Yoo's mangled medical bag.
Yoo's family sent out a press release over the weekend complaining about the lack of police help (once Yoo's breathing tube was removed, he was able to ID the bus, but the police weren't available), which made it onto 1010WINS. The police also told the family that the TIPS hotline couldn't be used "because he only sustained injuries and was not killed." With the media now paying attention, the police have now say that an investigation has been opened.
In this instance, very motivated people were able to demand police attention. The sad thing is that there are so many incidents where police involvement seems to stop short. On September 23, 2005, 14 year old Andre Anderson was riding his bicyle when when driver Jose Vicens tried to pass him. From the Wave:
Vicens tried to pass to the right, but the boy swerved into the right hand lane. Vicens countered to the left -- but not in time. Anderson suffered massive head trauma and bleeding. His small bicycle was crushed . […] Vicens remained at the scene until police arrived. He was not issued any violations and is not charged with any crime in connection with the accident. An official police statement said there was no criminality in this incident and that an investigation is ongoing."Vicens, who at one point bragged on his MySpace page that his hobby was "sending bikers flying in the air," did admit to speeding. And the police did not administer a Breathalyzer test either.
Andre's mother Audrey Anderson tells us since the police don't seem interested in justice, the families must get involved. A lot of information can be found in the various reports - if you ask for it. She explains what you can get [click "Continue reading" below]:
- The police accident report - from the precinct that governs the area in which the accident occurred (that is the local precinct)She also adds, "It will be a heart wrenching process to analyze those documents but I believe families have no choice if they want to know. Gather all your facts together before approaching anyone as the NYPD and the city agencies will cover up anything you try to expose."- The AIS – accident investigation squad report – (HIGHWAY PATROL) should include statements of the driver and/or witness, schematic of the accident scene along with the vehicle mechanism report. Highway patrol is called to the scene of an accident when there is a fatality or potential fatality. Ask your local precinct which division of the Highway patrol responded to the scene. This should be a comprehensive report but from what I have seen they don’t care because it is hardly ever requested.
- You are also entitled to a free copy of the autopsy report that is if you have the stomach to read it. (I had no choice because I needed to know exactly what happened to my child.)
The police accident report is a gold mine of information if carefully analyzed. In addition if this is a cyclist accident you need to file form MV 104C in order for the fatality to be listed on the killer's driving record. Do not wait on the NYPD to do this for you. According to DMV if you wait it can take up to 1 year to be reflected on the killer’s driving record. In most cases of fatality the DMV will hold what is called a safety hearing, you may want to call them to find out if one will be held (after you have submitted the form). This might be the only time you will get to meet the killer eye to eye.
With the city trying to encourage non-vehicle transportation options, you'd think the NYPD would take pedestrian and bicyclist injuries and fatalities more seriously.
More about Andre Anderson's death and the aftermath from Times-Up (which has an extensive list of how police procedure favors drivers), Cars Suck, Sucka Pants, and BikeBlog. And the friends and family have been looking for answers in Josh Crouch's hit-and-run death while crossing the West Side Highway, since the police do not seem engaged.
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many thanks for posting this!!!
for more on andre anderson see:
http://www.times-up.org/ghost_bikes_anderson.php
Thank you, Uptown Biker - I added that link to the post. This makes me so sad and angry that the police aren't doing more. While accidents can and do happen, it's hard to think that drivers can get away with this - I feel like it might make them more apt to think they'll be able to get away with it again.
Thanks, very thorough. I remember reading about Andre's killer on Sucka Pants and feeling so compeletely disgusted. It's stunning that when it comes to bicycle fatalities in NYC the driver is almost never charged with anything serious.
In the Yoo case, it's likely that the bus driver was unaware of the collison. Calling it a "hit and run" really isn't accurate.
As for the Anderson case, well, it's entirely possible that the driver really did nothing wrong. Bicycling and driving are potentially dangerous activities and accidents sometimes are unavoidable.
So when can we elect a mayor who gives enough of a shit about citizens of New York to hold the police accountable? Bloomberg doesn't care, there's no money it in.
Yawn. Take public transportation like the rest of us. The streets are too congested to begin with. Crime, lol.
it's amazing to me sometimes how people in this City can let their sense of humanity be diluted by the sheer size of the population here. what excuse can there ever be for soullessness? :(
Thanks Gothamist for following up on these stories. Intimidation-by-automobile is a major quality of life issue in NYC.
Thanks Gothamist for following up on these stories.
Intimidation-by-automobile is a major quality of life issue in this city.
don't be such a pedestrian, Lew
Lew: do you have any idea how many people use bikes to get around instead of public transportation? If, as you profess to want, everyone gave up on biking and piled onto the subways/buses, there would be literally thousands more people clogging the system.
Is that REALLY what you want, or did you merely not think things through before commenting?
Lew: do you have any idea how many people use bikes to get around instead of public transportation? If, as you profess to want, everyone gave up on biking and piled onto the subways/buses, there would be literally thousands more people clogging the system.
Is that REALLY what you want, or did you merely not think things through before commenting?
Lew, despite your assinine "yawning", bicycling makes very good sense in NYC.
* public transportation, as much as it awesome, does not go everywhere.
* it keeps you in shape
* it calms traffic
* it gives you a totally new perspective on the City
Congested streets are not a reason to not bike around the City. They are a reason to get more people to bike, take public transit and walk. A large proportion of drivers have those options instead of congesting our city with pollution, noise and misery, things we all pay for in one way or another.
And yawning as a reaction to peoples' death and injuries is pretty disgusting on your part.
Lew, despite your assinine "yawning", bicycling makes very good sense in NYC.
* public transportation, as much as it awesome, does not go everywhere.
* it keeps you in shape
* it calms traffic
* it gives you a totally new perspective on the City
Congested streets are not a reason to not bike around the City. They are a reason to get more people to bike, take public transit and walk. A large proportion of drivers have those options instead of congesting our city with pollution, noise and misery, things we all pay for in one way or another.
And yawning as a reaction to peoples' death and injuries is pretty disgusting on your part.
And now, Chapter XXXVIII of Cops. Hate. Cyclists.
I've become more and more convinced, since my own accident that a police officer witnessed and ignored, and reading these, that there is an "approach" taken by NYPD brass to discourage bikes on the streets. The (euphamism) lack of aggressive enforcement in these instances would seem to confirm this.
I love riding my bike in the city and I'm loathe to say anything about cops out of family loyalty and personal admiration. But this shit has got to stop. Good job G'mist for bringing this to everyone's attention. Keep it up.
I don't understand what the complaint is in the Anderson case. It's very unfortunate that the boy died. But he was driving a bicycle in a multiple-lane divided highway -- where passing on the right appears to be permitted because each direction is a one-way street, see Chapter 6 of the NY DMV drivers manual ("You may pass on the right ... [w]hen you are driving on a one-way road that is marked for two or more lanes or is wide enough for two or more lanes, and passing is not restricted by signs") -- and he was hit by a massive SUV that attempted to avoid him.
The article also states that he suffered from head trauma but doesn't state whether he wore a helmet or not. Bizarrely, Transportation Alternatives -- New York's leading bicycle advocacy group -- is against forcing cyclists to wear helmets. See http://www.transalt.org/press/media/2006/561.html . Would a helmet have saved him?
uh-oh - here come the "blame the victim helmet flames". Helmets do help, but they don't prevent injuries caused to places other than your head.
The real cause of Andre's death seems to be aggressive driving. A careful or considerate driver would have slowed down when he saw a boy on a bike, helmet or no helmet. Not Jose.
So L, if you're riding a bike and you get hit from behind by an SUV that's speeding and you aren't wearing a helmet, that's sort of your own fault, huh? And a helmet is really going to help, huh?
Ed-
Cyclists really should take responsibility for their own decision not to take any measure of precaution/prevention/safety in a congested city with heavy traffic at all hours if they die of head trauma after being struck by an automobile.
It's horrible to say, but I wonder when the teens who do drive-by shootings will realize that hit and run not only provides you with a getaway vehicle, but allows you to avoid possessing a weapon. sorry.
Peter, you wrote: "As for the Anderson case, well, it's entirely possible that the driver really did nothing wrong."
However, the story states that the driver admitted he was speeding. Don't you think that speed laws are there for a reason and that if the driver had been obeying the law, that 1) the severity of the impact would have been less had it still occurred and 2) that the driver would have been more likely to perceive and avoid Anderson if he was not driving too fast?
Peter, I find your post emblematic of a widespread problem, namely that many people (including the police) are willing to assume that the driver "did nothing wrong" even in the face of evidence to the contrary.
Bicycling will not take off in this city until it's safer.
A lot of drivers hate bicylists because bikers force drivers to pay attention, and sometimes to slow down. Precise vehicular control is not part of the American approach to driving.
The cops don't take bicycling seriously because they have a driver's perspective, being drivers themselves, and they have an innate dislike of disorder. Also, seeing dead and injured people is just part of their job, as is knowing there are a lot of social problems (i.e. aggressive driving) that they can't fix.
The only thing regular people can do about this is get more cyclists in the streets. To this end, Critical Mass is the best thing happening. Too bad it's been taken over by a bunch of wackos who seem to want attention more than safety.
I'd love to see a day when my moms could ride to the grocery store on her bike, safely, as would be possible in many other parts of the developed world.
Flame away,
Jim
There needs to be a change of culture. Too many NYPD cops come from suburbs and don't understand non-car life, and don't understand the TRUTH that motoring destroys everything!
I was doored recently--by a taxi who was illegally discharging passengers in a travel lane, and the cop who showed up treated me the whole time as if I was the one who had done something wrong. I had done nothing wrong.
Hey, Jim, you're mostly right about Critical Mass. Critical Mass is best when it's so small that the riders can't bully their way past pedestrians and through red lights. In that form, it does do good. When it's too big, it does more harm to the cause than good.
Same here, "flame away."
Miquel - if traffic and congestion were elements of the natural landscape over which humans had no control, then yes, cyclists would need to take responsibility for their lack of precaution in choosing to immerse themselves in it. Like a person with a weak immune system wading through a sick ward...
But traffic and congestion are not natural, and they are fully under human control. There are people in those cars and there is a DOT, a city council, a mayor, a governor, etc., who have options when it comes to cars and street safety.
New York City has a sickness, and it's time we administered some medicine rather than blaming cyclists for cycling.
Demand significantly more cops on bicycles (and fewer police cars and scooters)!
Think about it before you scoff. If it magically happened, how many problems would it alleviate? Lots.