A pedestrian was fatally struck in a Forest Hills crosswalk last night. According to an NYPD release, the female victim was crossing Queens Boulevard at 71st Avenue at around 8:30 p.m. when she was hit by a 2000 Chevrolet Malibu traveling north. The release states that the victim was crossing "against the light" inside the marked crosswalk. The driver remained at the scene, and no arrests have been made.
The victim's identity has been withheld pending family notification.
Jill Abramson, the executive editor of The New York Times, recounts her experience with being struck and seriously injured by a delivery truck in 2007. Three of her colleagues were similarly injured, and all of them were hit despite having the right of way.
In a 2010 report on traffic accidents, the city found that among the 6,784 pedestrians who were seriously injured by motor vehicles from 2002 to 2006, about three-quarters, or about 5,000, were in accidents at intersections, and over half of them, or more than 3,500 of the total, were crossing legally. In this, my colleagues and I were typical.
The Times has an accompanying map showing that from August 2011 through December 2013, the most dangerous area in the city for pedestrians was in Crown Heights, while the second most dangerous was in Morningside Heights. The most dangerous area for cycling injuries is at Allen and Delancey Street on the Lower East Side.
A 2014 study showed that Broadway was the most dangerous road for pedestrians in New York City.
