A woman has died and a man is in critical condition after two separate crashes on Hylan Boulevard in Staten Island, both occurring within 24 hours of each other. The first crash took place on Saturday at the intersection of Hylan Boulevard and Steuben Street when a Pontiac made a left on Steuben and crashed into a southbound Mercedes. 82-year-old Mary Toppino was sitting in the rear passenger seat of the Mercedes, and died of her injuries. more ›

Aspiring model Gypsy Porfirio admitted she "blacked out" before running over a teacher and his girlfriend who were jogging in Staten Island on Tuesday. The 34-year-old allegedly told cops she took two Xanax, one Ambien, and a Percocet about an hour before the collision, which left 23-year-old Daniel Kelley in "extremely critical" condition, the Daily News reports. "I blacked out at the wheel. I can't believe I hit a person." more ›

A man who was allegedly drunk crashed on Hylan Boulevard between Bryant and Bancroft Avenues during rush hour. With his kids in the minivan, the Staten Island Advance reports the driver "lost control" and "hit...a Verizon FIOS employees...sending his shoes and clipboard sailing through the air." Then the van "veered into the opposite lanes and hit a blue 2005 Mazda sedan head-on, which slammed into a black 2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo sport utility vehicle." And the minivan also hit a light pole. Between six and eight passengers from the minivan and Mazda were taken to the hospital, while the Verizon employee is in serious condition. more ›

If you thought noticed a group of bicyclists playing dead on 6th Avenue near 33rd Street, your eyes weren't fooling you. Time's Up led a Bike Lane Action to "dramatize the fatal last moments of David Smith’s ride up 6th Avenue." Smith was killed when a passenger in a truck, parked in the bike lane, opened a door; Smith was knocked off his bike and into the path of a truck. more ›

The pedestrian, bicyclist and sensible transportation advocacy group Transportation Alternatives has just launched a new website, Crash Maps: CrashStat 2.0, which maps intersections and streets where pedestrians and bicyclists have been hit by vehicles. It's an updated version of their previous map, and when the information is presented different depending on how closely you zoom into the map. For instance, at one level, it shows crashes (those with injuries as well as the fatal... more ›

It's no shock that many drivers aren't totally on the ball when driving, but it turns out that one in three New York drivers multi-task in their cars. According to a Hunter College study (PDF) conducted at 50 intersections in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens, of the over 3,000 drivers observed, 23% were talking on a cellphone, 5.7% were smoking, 4.5% were drinking, 3.1% were drinking, and 1.7% were grooming. Time to quote Rihanna:... more ›

Claiming he was panicked, the driver who fatally struck a mother of four in Staten Island Tuesday night now faces felony charges of leaving the scene of a fatal accident. But the law is a strange thing. more ›

Last night, a woman crossed Hylan Boulevard between Fingerboard Road and Linwood Avenue in Grasmere was fatally struck by a speeding car. The police believe the vehicle was a black Mercedes two-door coupe, 2001 or newer, with a damaged front end. more ›

There were a number of deaths and injuries from incidents all over the city early Sunday morning. The first was a collision between a Toyota and BMW on Hylan Boulevard in Staten Island. The Toyota's driver, 29-year-old Paul Vinin, died while the BMW's driver Jolyn SIlva, was critically injured. Silva's passenger, 17-year-old Paulina Vivirito, had minor injuries. The Staten Island Advance, which said that Toyota "t-boned the BMW", reports that both Vinin and Silva had suspended licenses, from not paying tickets. more ›

Yesterday, Transportation Alternatives held a rally at City Hall to draw attention to the recently increasing numbers of pedestrian fatalities on city streets. Last year, 163 pedestrians died, a 4% increase over 2005, and just this past weekend, four pedestrians were killed by vehicles. Relatives and friends of victims joined TA to demand that the city to make streets safer for pedestrians and "strengthen laws against motorists who kill or injure pedestrians" (Metro). Watch the video and hear them speak. more ›

In 2006, over 10,000 pedestrians were hit by cars and trucks in New York City. One hundred sixty-six were killed. The City's pedestrian safety efforts are inadequate. Where is Mayor Bloomberg? He has spoken out about transfats, gun violence and smoking. If killing a pedestrian with a car was considered assault it would be the second leading type of homicide behind only gun violence. Where is his leadership on this issue? more ›

Yesterday the Department of Transportation installed the first countdown pedestrian signal at the intersection of Coney Island Avenue and Kings Highway. Here's how the city explains the timer:

The pedestrian countdown signals are the same size as the existing pedestrian signal head, but feature a dual display - the traditional "Walking Man" and "Hand" display, and a pedestrian interval countdown display. The countdown feature is programmed to start at the beginning of the "flashing hand" cycle and end when the flashing hand becomes steady. At the five test intersections pedestrians will be given a minimum 15-second countdown before the light changes.

-Hylan Boulevard Looking at the MTA's site, it's pretty cool that the MTA is taking other bus systems around the world into consideration - and we love any plan that wants better bus boarding! more ›

- Look out for any cameras that seem to focus on the card and not the faces of the user and simply beware of anything that looks unusual, such as odd looking equipment or wires attached to a device.Well, wires would be a tip-off. The police also say you should check your ATM, and be suspicious if the Braille is suddenly gone from the keypad. Crazy.
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There are a lot of hit-and-run incidents in the city, but it seems like there are have been a lot more than normal. Could it be holiday traffic? Darker evenings? Or people are just more careless? A Brooklyn man was killed in Clinton Hill, leaving a restaurant where he watched soccer (the NY Times reports that Lucino Galindo had said if he died, he would want a soccer ball in his coffin). But there are also seem to be a number of careless pedestrian accidents. In the same NY Times article, a seemindly drunk man was hit while walking in the middle of Hylan Boulevard; a witness said the SUV didn't seem to be at fault even though the man was hit like "a rag doll," but the police arrested the driver for drunk driving. And then a man was hit by a car in Chelsea, at Seventh and 17th Street. The driver wasn't charged because the man was talking on his cellphone and crossing against the light; the Post adds that the car "that hit him had swerved to avoid a woman who was also crossing against the light." People! In a perfect world, those idiots on the road would heed by our angry looks, but they don't. Look both ways and don't cross against the light - you never know about those crazy drivers who barrel down the sidestreet and make sharp turns. Be careful! As the DoT says, "Cars Hurt - Stay Alert." more ›