Results tagged “fatalities”

After a record low number of fatalities from auto accidents in 2007, the number of deaths spiked last year to 292 pedestrians, drivers, passengers, bicyclists and motorcyclists—18 more people than in 2007. According to a report issued by the DOT, pedestrian fatalities last year jumped to 147, seven more than in 2007.

During a press conference yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg said, "I don’t think anybody should be fully satisfied with the Department of Buildings’ performance. Whether somebody could have done a better job — I’m trying to — whether they could have done a better job I just don’t know."

The Turtle Bay crane collapse took 7 lives, flattened a townhouse, and battered three other buildings, but the calamity’s toll doesn’t stop there: Two tenants returned “home” to find their roofless 19th floor penthouse looted of jewelry and electronics worth $30,000 or $80,000, depending on whether you believe the Post or the News.

A huge crane toppled off of a high-rise building under construction around 2:15 p.m. this afternoon and crashed into another skyscraper. According to initial reports, the incident occurred near 2nd Ave. as the crane fell backward from 51st St. into another building at 305 East 50th St. in Manhattan. NY1 spoke to residents who could see the incident from their 80th floor apartment on East 48th Street; they said the crane hit at least two building.

Although traffic fatalities decreased for pedestrians, drivers and their passengers in 2007, last year saw an uptick in motorcycle and bicycle deaths. The numbers announced yesterday by the mayor at a press conference in Brighton Beach add up, overall, to the lowest number of traffic deaths since the city began keeping track almost a century ago.

The Times takes a look at Portland’s $150,000 project to retrofit some major intersections with cyclist-friendly “bike boxes.” The painted stripes and signs create a zone where cyclists can cross in front of stopped traffic to turn without getting run down by turning trucks, theoretically. Dubbed a “right hook”, it resulted in the deaths of two cyclists last October in Portland, and plenty in New York.