Driver Sues City For Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge Crash That Claimed His Arm, Killed His Passenger

The wrecked car (WCBS 880)

In April, a Volkswagen Jetta careened off the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge and crashed into Queens storefronts. Passenger Beatriz Rodriguez died from her injuries while driver Alexander Palacio's arm was amputated. Now Palacio, who was charged with unlicensed driving, is suing the city.

According to the Post, Palacio's lawsuit "[accuses] the city of negligence for altering the exit ramp to create space for pedestrians and bicyclists." Palacio's crash came a week after another car crashed from the same exit and into the same storefronts—injuring the driver and killing a pedestrian. Then, a month later, another car flew off the ramp, crashing into a parked car.

Palacio's lawsuit is not the only one going around—the two damaged stores may file a lawsuit, too. The stores' lawyer told the Post that "Palacio may also be named in the lawsuit because cops believe he was speeding and driving without a license." Earlier this year, the stores' lawyer Scott Agulnick said, "Clearly, after that first accident, the powers that be should have realized that there was a fundamental problem with how the traffic is handled. The fact that there was a second accident confirms what everyone has been saying, which is that this intersection is something of a death trap."

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By Jen Chung in News on November 26, 2011 9:30 AM

Comments [rss]

Emmily_Litella

If the asshole does win he’ll probably use the money to blow his brains/sinuses out with coke.

birdtird

shouldn't the city build a ramp that launches you off the exit so you don't have to crash into the storefronts anymore?

JacksBack72

Mo' money. . . Mo money!
The city shoud pay to have this guy's arm re-attached. . . to his asshole- so he'll have an easier time pulling stupid shit like this out of his ass!! 'Je-Sus' !

robingee

I wish people would drive the speed limit and not be a-holes. But wishes don't always come true.

nicemarmot

The storeowners may actually have a case. It's not their fault lunatic drivers keep crashing into them.

This guy on the other hand...it's just too bad he didn't lose more than his arm.

petercow

In the 90's, I was foreman of a jury in Manhattan for a guy (he was 16 at the time of the incident), who had ripped off a lady's purse at the Canal Street subway station, and while in the course of fleeing through the subway tunnel, was struck by a train, and lost his foot. He was suing the Transit Authority (he received a prosthetic foot while in prison).

Details on my blog here: http://bit.ly/lEJevD

"Tim Osman"

I doubt the suit ever happens without Palacio finding a lawyer to represent him. Odds are the lawyer saw this one armed man walk into his office, heard "car accident" and saw dollar signs and didn't care about any of the other facts of the case.

"Tim Osman"

Countersuit!
The lawyer who brought this suit is an example of why there are so many lawyer jokes

ItchyGomez

Not that there aren't tons of shady lawyers out there, but Palacio brought the suit. His lawyer is representing him.

petey2

the stupid city will probably once again settle out of court.

Spirit of 76

It will not. The suit will probably be tossed by the judge as being without merit. Three crashes out of however many hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of cars that have taken that exit ramp since then do not prove it's unsafe, much less the "death trap" that the slimeball lawyer claims. The city can easily produce concrete evidence that if the posted speed limit is obeyed, a car doesn't go flying.

Poor Palacio. No license, no arm, no brains, no case.

m015094

Palacio is trying to strong-arm the city into paying. Well, as much as he can with ONE arm.

HA HA HA HA.

e non

i think that's because it's cheaper than going to trial. consider the jury pool -- who you can bet many of whom would like to file their own claims against the city...

splicernyc

Drive slower and you won't have a problem. I drive on that bridge and my car doesn't go flying off in all directions.

AaronRed99

I'm all for a class action lawsuit against Janet Dipstick Kahn.

m015094

I could definitely see crashing in that location - if you're a shitty driver. Maybe like one who did not get his license to drive, perhaps?

tijuanatornado

Yeah because when you're doing something you're not licensed to do, which you also do in an irresponsible manner that causes an accident, it is never your fault, it is the city's.

Idiot.