After Fatal Drunk Driving Incident, Relief Fund Established For Victims

The PR team over at Mercadito sent us a very disturbing email earlier today:

On Sunday, August 26, at 7:20 am Antonio Barranco Hernandez was killed, and Luis Romero and Augusto Bravo were seriously injured after a drunk driver slammed into the back of the van while the men delivered produce to Mercadito Grove restaurant, located at 100 Seventh Avenue South in New York City.

Mercadito has set up a fund to accept donations on behalf of the victims and their families. We are asking for you to help to spread the word.

Hernandez had been filling in for his son's shift when he was killed. Bravo was pinned between two cars and his leg was nearly severed. Witnesses think that the car was traveling at 50 MPH; the driver was charged with vehicular manslaughter, DWI, and vehicular assault.

Please consider making a donation by mail, making checks payable to The West Village Accident Fund.:
The West Village Accident Fund
332 Bleecker Street
F 38
New York, NY 10014

Photo of Mercadito courtesy of NY Mag.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Laren Spirer on August 29, 2007 12:55 PM

Comments [rss]

Avereen Gen

Making a claim for fatal accident compensation is often a secondary thought after the loss of a loved one. However, when that loved one was the family bread-winner, the mother of small children who need full-time care or a son or daughter who was supporting elderly parents, the resulting stress and worry may lead to a claim for fatal accident compensation out of financial necessity.
Fatal Accident Compensation

guest

the insurance companies will fight it out, till then No-fault ins will pay for his medical etc.

ed_Extinct

me thinks the drunk driver shoud be paying for the family's workers comp. in fact the drunk driver should be paying the max fine and restituion to the family.

the restaurant is hardly at fault. Yes they have insurance, but i bet that only covers the workers on-site, not off.

guest

just this morning (8:45a), a truck barrelled through the red light at Park Ave & 34th St. i took note of the truck's name/number of the truck and found the company on-line; emailed their HR dept.

take it seriously when you see a commercial vehicle that has the words "please let us know if this truck is being operated unsafely" printed on the back....

guest

#5

Were they employees of the restaurant? If so, then yes, you are correct about worker's comp. If they were only making a delivery then their company's insurance would pay the claim for compensation. if they were self-employed (which is my guess) then they would likely have no coverage and that could explain why the restaurant is collecting for a fund.

regardless of the which of those three scenerios are true, i wouldn't necessarily read into it that the restaurant is trying to take collections as a replacement for any responsibilities they might have.

guest

nycladdy74: it sounds like they were working for the delivery company, not the resturant, although you're right, their employeer should help pay expenses. still, it's a nice thought.

nycladdy74

By "disturbing" are you referring to the face that they are asking others to donate to a fund rather than paying the medical expenses as part of worker's compensation? They were injured on the job - even if the insurance of the driver does cover costs...the restuarant should be paying wages to the families affected.

JMH

I've been drunk at 7am before. It's typically "still drunk" rather than "just got drunk".

guest

That bit of Seventh Avenue (between 14th Street and Houston, as it curves, is a speedway.

guest

Who the hell is drunk at 7am?? Man, sad story.

guest

sad...and unfortunatly not surprising. As a life-long New Yorker (and passionate pedestrian), I have observed with some trepidation a marked increase in reckless driving around the city. Perhaps the city needs to go on a unrelenting ticket-blitz, targeting all drivers who speed, drive erractically, go through red lights and stop signs (yes, I've seen it), etc.

Tip to cops: Houston Street, esp going west towards Sixth Ave, is a free-for-all. They can't get to the Holland Tunnel fast enough it seems.