SUV In Reverse Kills Woman And Injures Another On UWS

(MyFoxNY)

Yesterday afternoon, a driver with a suspended license was backing up on Amsterdam Avenue to get a parking space and struck two women crossing the street at West 98th Street. Yolanda Casal, 78, was pronounced dead at the hospital while the other woman, her 41-year-old daughter Anais Emanuel, was in stable condition. A witness told the Post, "They had the right of way and that guy just kept backing up. He was trying to get that spot."

Other witnesses say that Casal's body flew in the air after being struck. She suffered severe head trauma. Emanuel suffered many broken ribs. The driver, Edwin Carrasco, 38, of Paterson, NJ, stayed at the scene and was charged with driving with a suspended license, unsafe backing and failure to exercise due care.

The witness, David Gomez, also spoke to WABC 7, "[Casal] was bleeding profusely. He could have waited for that parking spot. I don't even think he looked."

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

By Jen Chung in News on July 1, 2011 9:11 AM

Comments [rss]

Original Ola

studies consistently show SUV drivers to be the most inconsiderate, careless drivers

imboredsoipost

The driver, Edwin Carrasco, 38, of Paterson, NJ, stayed at the scene where he was soundly beaten by those others having witnessed the scene, until the police arrived, at which time he was charged...

No, that would just be too simple to allow to happen.

birdtird

i'm kinda surprised the driver stayed at the scene, seems like everybody jets when they do shit like this

drew_o

In order for criminal charges to filed against the driver, the police would have to do hard work and conduct an extensive investigation.

And the police have other things to do. Like sit around and watch the pretty girls.

Gwinny

Right. And if they don't file the charges, the DA's office can't prosecute. *sigh*

Guest

one of them didn't just sit around recently...

Fronko

So far this year car drivers have killed over 70 people in the five boroughs and injured hundreds more. Cyclists have been responsible for zero pedestrian deaths.

mattbrooklyn

Many many old people have been frightened by cyclists.

So, you know, bicycles iz danjeruz.

Gwinny

I wonder how many of these drivers have had charges filed against them?

Eric Gordon

Isn't there a law about driving recklessly in reverse? I can't think of the name right now, but it's named after a little girl. Anyone know what I'm thinking of?

Anakela

I think you're thinking of Elle's Law:

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/st...

jibbly

Ah, another law. Here's the penalty (according to the article):

Under Elle's Law, if a driver flouts a traffic law and hurts a
pedestrian they can lose their license for six months. If it's a repeat
offense, they're looking at up to a year.

You cripple a kid for life and you get your license revoked for 6 months.

jibbly

You're probably thinking of this accident:

http://gothamist.com/2009/01/2...

And the Hayley and Diego's Law:

http://www.nysenate.gov/press-...

jibbly

And now that I read it, it seems like one hell of a weak law:

• For the first offense, a fine of $750 or 15 days of jail time,
participation in a driving training course, suspension or revocation of
the driver’s license or registration, or any combination of these
penalties; and

• For the second offense, any of the above penalties, plus a misdemeanor charge.

bggb

This wouldn't have happened if more bicyclists got ticketed for rolling through stop signs.

mattbrooklyn

the other day i rolled my bicycle backwards into a bike rack. the cops gave me a ticket. unsafe backing, and failure to exercise due bicycle. they told me i could have killed someone.

Gwinny

I see people do this all the time... or better yet, they back around a corner to get a space on a cross street. Most of the time they get away with it...yet another reason why cops training their attention on bikes is so freaking ridiculous.

Stacy_Anne

I decided to read the comments just to see how many posts it would take to turn into a forum for complaining about how cops treat bicyclists. Which has NOTHING WHATSOEVER to do with this story. And yet, here we go again.

mattbrooklyn

and what, pray tell, are the Stacey_Anne Rules for Germane Commenting? Or are there well known, scientist-tested Principles of Relevant Commenting?

Some people - clearly lacking your profound grasp of the SARGC and the PRC - might mistakenly think that comments about transportation issues are appropriate for stories about transportation. One might further - you would say wrongly - think that when there is a lot of noise from the NYPD about the dangers of bicycles, that stories about the dangers of cars might prompt comments that express reflections on the relative dangers of bicycles and cars.

But, according to the SARGC and/or the PRC, stories about transportation have NOTHING WHATSOEVER to do with comments about transportation, and stories about the dangers of cars have NOTHING WHATSOEVER to do with comments about the dangers of bicycles.

But, really, what is probably going on is this: you have NOTHING WHATSOEVER in your little chicken brain.

Stacy_Anne

Wow, such anger, mattbrooklyn! And personal insults when you know nothing about me but my 3 sentences of mild annoyance at what I perceive as irrelevance to the topic. If every story involving a car and pedestrian is relevant to every form of transportation, or even only those that could possibly come into contact with a car and/or pedestrian, why no comments here about the dangers of trains or buses or trucks?

Because they have nothing to do with a dangerous driver killing a pedestrian. Just as cops ticketing bicyclists for alleged offenses unrelated to pedestrians has nothing to do with a dangerous driver killing a pedestrian. And yet any excuse to talk about that subject, relevant or not, is taken for a ride in here by a few, into the ground. And anyone who questions the relevance of it not only rebutted with vehement anger, but personally insulted.