Results tagged “caraccident”

Tiger Woods issued a statement on his website about his Friday car accident, blaming himself for the incident, calling his wife Eiln's actions "courageous," and refuting the "many false, unfounded and malicious rumors" (namely that he and his wife got into a fight preceding the accident), "This situation is my fault, and it's obviously embarrassing to my family and me. I'm human and I'm not perfect. I will certainly make sure this doesn't happen again."

Two girls have died from a horrible van crash in St. Albans, Queens that occurred at 5 p.m. yesterday. Both were foster children: The first, a 15-year-old, died late Monday night, and the other, a 5-year-old died at 4:30 this morning. The Daily News reports that driver Shelia Bethea, 45, "crossed the double-yellow line on Dunkirk St. in Saint Albans while going between 60 and 70 miles an hour, slamming her minivan into another van."

A wake was held on Long Island today for five victims of Sunday's deadly crash on the Taconic Parkway. Diana Schuler was driving the wrong way before crashing into an SUV; Schuler, her daughter and three nieces died while three people inside the SUV were also killed. Autopsy results yesterday ruled out any signs of alcohol, drugs or a medical condition such as a stroke or an aneurysm, or even just sleepiness for 36-year-old Schuler. But today police say that during the phone call to her brother 30 minutes before the crash—when Schuler said she wasn't feeling well—she revealed that she was disoriented and was having trouble seeing. Schuler's family, who held a wake for their loved ones, issued a statement, "We extend our condolences to the Bastardi and Longo families [of the SUV victims] and regret the grief this tragic accident has caused." They also said that 5-year-old Bryan Schuler, the only survivor of the crash, is expected to make a full recovery. Police now await the results of further blood and toxicology tests, available in 4-6 weeks, saying, "We made sure that they’re going to test for everything because we don’t have an answer.”

The woman who drove a minivan full of her children and nieces the wrong way on the Taconic yesterday was feeling ill, but there is no indication of drugs or alcohol being involved in Westchester's worst accident in 75 years. Diane Schuler of West Babylon was on her way home from a weekend camping trip upstate when she called her brother on Long Island to say that she felt sick—apparently so ill that he offered to come get her if she would pull over. However, she didn't know where she was exactly and two hours later, she veered onto the other side of the highway. Schuler, 36, apparently had been on the wrong side for 2 miles before crashing head first into an SUV, killing all three Yonkers men inside it—father and son Michael and Guy Bastardi and their friend Daniel Longo. Schuler, her two-year-old daughter Erin and her three young nieces—Emma, Alison and Kate Hance— all died in the crash. The only survivor was Schuler's five-year-old son Brian, who is amazingly in stable condition. A secondary collision with a Chevy Tracker left a Freehold couple with minor cuts that they were treated for. Police now await autopsy and toxicology results to learn more details of Schuler's condition.

Yesterday afternoon, eight vehicles were involved in a fatal crash on the NJ Turnpike that "prompted police to shut down a 25-mile southbound stretch of the highway for hours," the Star-Ledger reports. Apparently a tractor-trailer hit a Buick, which had stopped in the right (southbound) lane: "The impact caused the 2004 Buick LeSabre to become fully engulfed in flames and shift to the center lane, where it triggered a chain reaction involving six other vehicles." The Buick's driver and passengers, five people in their 70s, were all killed. One of the other cars was a Jeep containing three men from NYC, all of whom were injured; charges against the tractor-trailer driver are pending. The highway's hours-long closure hit travelers heading to the Jersey shore and Six Flags Great Adventure. NJ Turnpike Authority spokesman Joe Orlando told the Star-Ledger, "I don't really remember one this bad...Now it's just a matter of trying to figure out what happened down there."

      

The driver of a van in Harlem today lost control, causing the vehicle to jump the curb and injure six people while simultaneously toppling a scaffolding. The scaffolding had just been cited last month by the Department of Buildings for not meeting safety code standards. An owner of a nearby deli at 136th Street and Lenox Avenue told the News, "It sounded like the whole building fell down."

A livery cab driver in the Bronx is dead after an accident that saw him lose control of the vehicle and crash into a minivan with three people inside it. 51-year-old Gregorio Primentel was speeding in his cab across Bruckner Boulevard in Mott Haven when he crossed over the median and hit the van, which carried two adults and one child. The six-year-old girl in the backseat is critical and the two adults in serious condition. Firefighters needed to cut off the roof of the van in order to get the people out. A witness told NY1, "When I reach into the car, the driver was in the back seat facing down, I try to speak to the guy, he was bleeding from his head...Then I went to the van and see three people in the minivan, a little child...she was in the back seat, thank God she was wearing a seat belt, she was in a car seat."

A man and a woman ended up dead this morning after their car flipped over on the West Side Highway, taking place just an hour after another fatal car accident took place overnight in Staten Island. Police say that the 1996 Ford Mustang was speeding down the West Side Drive when it attempted to make a left turn heading east onto 56th Street. The car flipped and claimed the lives of the driver, a 45-year-old man, and his 20-year-old female passenger. Police tell Newsday the vehicle clipped a parked cab and then hit a concrete divider, flipping over and landing on its roof. The victims were brought to St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital where both were pronounced dead. The speed limit on the West Side Highway is 35 mph and the traffic light at 56th street is one of the first ones drivers encounter after coming off the Henry Hudson Parkway South.

A group of Staten Island teens who survived a near brush with death after their car flipped over last week appear to have learned a valuable lesson...that faces full of scars make for great MySpace photos. After one of the six teenage boys in the car last Friday spilled the beans to the SI Advance about what was just regular old 100 mph ride in 17-year-old Justin Sacchi's Nissan before the airborne turn that would flip them over five times, the group then refused any further comments. Except for Sacchi's mother, that is--she denied any speeding and blamed a "dangerous bump" on the exit ramp that the DOT should have fixed years ago. But kudos to the Advance for checking the teens' MySpace pages where they publicly bragged about hitting 103 mph and the 10 feet of air they caught, one changed his user name to "We CheAteD DeAtH iTseLf" and another listed his mood as "high on morphine." The profiles still appear to be unlocked.

The Staten Island Advance reports that a man died last night when "the car he was driving allegedly blew a stop sign and collided with an SUV at a Mariners Harbor intersection." Sources tell the Advance that Carl Thomas, who was pronounced dead at the hospital, was not wearing a seatbelt in his Dodge Charger. Thomas apparently went through the stop sign at Van Pelt and Heusden, turning right into a SUV, sending "both vehicles careening down rain-slicked" streets. The SUV's occupants, who had be to extricated from the vehicle, did not suffer life-threatening injuries, while Thomas, found with the seatbelt clicked in but behind him, had severe chest trauma. The authorities are doing a toxicology report on Thomas's condition.

Reverend Timothy Wright, known as the "Godfather of Gospel" and the pastor of the Grace Tabernacle Church in Crown Heights, spoke to WCBS 2 about the July 4th accident that killed his wife and grandson. They had been driving on 1-80 in Pennsylvania when a drunk driver--driving the wrong way-- hit them at what Wright believes was 80 mph. Wright, now paralyzed from the chest down, has a 50% chance of walking again. He said, "I lost my wife, I lost my grandson, and for some reason, God left me here. So here I am." He wasn't told of his wife's death immediately, because his children wanted him to concentrate on his recovery. A benefit will be held to support him next month. More details here.

After two young women who died early Saturday morning when they were hit by two cabs traveling in opposite directions, witnesses have shed some light on the circumstances surrounding the tragedy. Well into a long night that included seeing the band Stereolab play earlier in the evening at Irving Plaza, Stephanie Dees and Ann Sullivan were leaving Bella's Famous Pizza at 3:20 a.m. when they were struck by the taxis while crossing 14th Street at 1st Avenue.

Two women, both age 26, were killed overnight when they were struck by two taxis in the East Village. Police say the pair were crossing East 14th Street at 1st Avenue around 3 a.m. when they were first hit by a taxi heading westbound that knocked them into the path of the second cab which then ran into them on the eastbound side of the street. One woman died at the scene while the other passed away hours later at Beth Israel hospital.

The deaths of a couple immediately killed in their car when an unlicensed 17-year-old driver ran through a red light on a Grand Central Parkway service road has upset and outraged their neighbors. Jacob Chubalashvili, who stole the keys to a Mercedes from a family friend who was supposed to be watching him, faces many charges, including second degree manslaughter, speeding, and driving without a license after causing the crash that killed Ki and Hyek Young Kim Tuesday morning. The Kims' neighbor told NY1, "It's terrible, it's just terrible. It could happen to me it could happen to my family. It's just sad that things like this happen and that 17-year-old kid is going to get minimal time." Chubalashvili also told the police he had been smoking marijuana before driving.

A beloved Brooklyn pastor and gospel singer remains in critical condition after a July 4 car accident. The Reverend Timothy Wright's wife and 14-year-old grandson were killed when a driver driving the wrong way on I-80 in Pennsylvania hit their car (the other driver also died). Wright's family has not told him of his wife's death, hoping to tell him when he's stronger. Wright's son said, "He's fighting for his life. He's getting stronger spiritually, mentally and physically. Time will tell."

Councilman Charles Barron, who is a frequent lightning rod for controversy in New York's City Council, was involved in a five-car smash up in Brooklyn last night. The accident occurred in the councilman's district of East New York on Linden Boulevard and Van Siclen Avenue late last night as Barron was driving home. Barron's car was struck in a chain reaction started by an SUV striking a livery cab attempting to turn at an intersection. Barron is humorously quoted in the New York Post saying that he wasn't afraid because he has so much to live for: "I just braced myself and I said, 'I can't have anything happen to me because [Mayor] Bloomberg and [Council Speaker] Christine Quinn would miss me so." The former Black Panther has butted heads with Mayor Bloomberg over the unauthorized renaming of a Brooklyn street after radical Sonny Carson, and with Speaker Quinn over the dismissal of one of his staffers for making a perceived death threat against another council member.

Early this morning, a crash occurred near Newark on Route 21, killing three people. The Star-Ledger reports the accident was "on the northbound overpass linking McCarter Highway to Routes 1&9 and Route 78," which is a very busy artery leading to other highways and Newark, and shut down traffic for hours (the roads are now reopened). The investigation is continuing; WABC 7 says "One of the cars may have been heading in the wrong direction at the time of the crash."

Famous gospel singer Rev. Timothy Wright of the Grace Tabernacle Christian Center in Crown Heights was seriously injured in a car accident on I-80 in Pennsylvania Friday evening. His wife Betty did not survive the crash, after a man driving a Chevy Corsica the wrong way on the interstate struck their car as they were driving home from a conference in Detroit. The Wrights' grandson, 14-year-old D.J. Wright, was also fatally injured in the wreck and passed away in a Pennsylvania hospital. The driver of the Corsica, 44-year-old John Pick of Lewisburg, PA, was killed in the crash.

A recent high school graduate was killed in a car accident early yesterday morning when a pickup truck drove into the Honda Civic she was riding in at East 65th Street and Park Avenue. Julie Tsang, 17, had graduated three days earlier from Millennium High School and was planning on attending Hunter College this fall. Police charged the truck's driver, 22-year-old Robert Gomez (who was not hurt), with criminally negligent homicide, DWI, and driving with a suspended license. Sources told the Post Gomez "refused a breath test but reeked of alcohol." The Honda's driver Kevin Chang is in critical but stable condition.

A Nassau County cop who had just pulled over a car for drunk driving early Sunday morning was hit by another drunk driver on the Long Island Expressway. Newsday reports 30-year-old police officer Kenneth Baribault "suffered severe head trauma, as well as broken bones in both his upper and lower torso" and underwent surgery for a blood clot.

Police are still looking for men who abandoned a BMW in Queens after a fatal crash that left a 5-year-old dead. The accident occurred in the section Jamaica, at 109th Avenue and 164th Place.

Yikes! This photograph of a mangled car is what happened to WCBS 2 reporter Pablo Guzman. The WCBS 2 website says Guzman only suffered a broken rib and "wants everyone to know that the only reason he's alive is because he was wearing his seatbelt" but "Details of what caused the crash are not yet known.

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a person under a train at Jamaica Ave. and 95th St. in Queens, a severed limb at Blake Ave. in Brooklyn, and a child struck at 39th St. and 3rd Ave. in Brooklyn.
• "Prepare to be swabbed citizen." New York takes steps forward to our Gattaca-like future.
• A man described as being 6'1" and 300 lbs. was spotted nude and running around Staten Island. The emotionally disturbed person was eventually corralled by EMTs and police, but died on the way to the hospital.

Jim Leyritz, who played with the Yankees, from 1990-1996 and then again in 1999 and 2000, was arrested early Friday morning after getting in a car accident in Broward County, Florida. Thursday was Leyritz's 44th birthday and he was presumably driving his Ford Expedition home early Friday morning when witnesses said they saw him run a red light. His car hit a Mitsubishi Montero driven by 30-year-old Fredia Ann Veitch. The woman was ejected from her car during the accident and died of her injuries after being taken to a hospital. Leyritz is being charged with DUI manslaughter and DUI property damage. He was released after posting an $11,000 bond.

The police arrested a 20-year-old man in the stabbing deaths of Bronx mother Yolanda Beckford and her 6-year-old daughter Monique. Camor Harding, 20, Beckford's cousin, was charged with first degree murder; he confessed that the killing was accident - a claim the police do not believe.

With the winter weather causing more difficult driving conditions, last night a dump truck jumped a divider on Route 3/Meadowlands Parkway. Fifteen cars piled up behind it, causing hours of traffic issues. Twenty-eight people were injured, five were treated at hospitals, and one died. Route 3 was closed for 8 1/2 hours Sunday night until 6:30AM this morning, and residual delays are expected. Other accidents occurred in the icy conditions and a tow truck operator...

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a shooting on Jerome Ave. in the Bronx, a stabbing at Ft. Hamilton H.S. in Brooklyn, and a fall victim on 88th St. in Queens.
• Hillary and Rudy initially attempted to settle things by seeing who would yell "uncle" first as they tried to crush each other's hand.
• A 31-year-old NJ man says that he throttled his mother with his bare hands after she criticized him for his messy housekeeping, but it was an accident that he actually killed her.
• The NYPD gets serious about gun control when maintenance workers find two missing service pistols stashed in the ceiling of the 90th Precinct.
• A new venue for identity theft: cloning license plates for congestion pricing. It's happening in London and is one more potential headache for NYers.
• A college senior badly injured in a car accident saved the lives of at least four people through the donation of his organs.
• The "The Stop the Madrassa Community Coalition" is demanding that the woman they drummed out of a job apologize for accusing them of making "anti-Muslim and anti-Arab comments."
• Save yourself a trip to the mall. Design your own holiday sweater online!

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a confined space rescue at The Beverly Hotel on 50th St. in Manhattan, a pedestrian struck on West 145th St. and 7th Ave. in Manhattan, and a fall victim on West 24th St. in Manhattan.
• Former NY State chief judge Sol Wachtler got his law license back, 14 years after pleading guilty to being a stalker.
• Some Jewish leaders are angry that Mayor Bloomberg met with London mayor Ken Livingstone, who Councilman Dov Hikind calls an anti-Semite racist. If it's any comfort to critics, it looks like taking a public bus ride with a mayor nicknamed "Red Ken" was Bloomberg just being a gracious guest.
• Herbert Muschamp, the architecture critic for The New York Times between 1992 and 2004, passed away yesterday
• Two Brooklyn parents were killed in a car accident upstate when the driver overcorrected after losing control and he crossed into oncoming traffic on a highway near Goshen, NY. Their four-month-old child and two friends survived the crash.
• Fishing for sport or fishing for dinner? Some argue that eating reel-caught fish is fine, which worries some lawmakers.
• Brooklyn Heights Blog features a report (with pictures) of George Clooney shooting a film on Middagh St. today.
• The two cops injured in a shootout in the Bronx this morning had to go undergo alcohol testing––the first time it's happened since the department's new policy was implemented. A union official said that giving a "Breathalyzer" to shot cops was demoralizing and degrading.

Shocked family and friends are mourning the deaths of four people who died in a car accident on East Tremont Avenue near Commonwealth early yesterday morning. The police believe that the GMC Envoy was traveling at least 80 MPH (and witnesses think it was closer to 90-95 MPH) when it hit a utility pole and flipped over twice. The NY Times reports the car "hit the pole with such force that its roof was shorn off, three of the four people inside were ejected and the driver was decapitated." It's unclear whether there was alcohol involved.

Happy first weekend of September - and happy Labor Day weekend, too, for our American cities! Let's take a look at what's been happening around the Ist-a-verse.