An accident in Queens at 7:30 a.m. on Nov. 11 resulted in the deaths of two men. According to police, a 22-year-man lost control of his vehicle and drove over the curb. The man’s car collided with the two Elmhurst men who were on the sidewalk at the time. While an investigation was still ongoing at the time of the report, speed may have played a role in this fatal pedestrian accident.
The accident occurred on Queens Boulevard near its intersection with Van Loon Street. Prior to moving to the sidewalk, the vehicle had hit a phone booth, a lamp post and several parked vehicles. The driver suffered minor injuries in the accident and was taken to the hospital. There were two outstanding warrants for the man, and he was taken into custody at that time. The victims, ages 59 and 41, were believed to be construction workers.
A woman who lives near Queens Boulevard, which is 10 lanes wide, said that she heard the crash. She said that cars are always speeding on the road, which has a marked speed limit of 30 mph. Queens Boulevard is known by some as the Boulevard of Death, and residents in the area have expressed a desire for increased law enforcement of traffic violations. The witness said that she believes that the intersection near where the accident occurred is dangerous because people try to speed through the intersection’s traffic light when it’s yellow. While many residents in the area want tougher traffic enforcement, others believe that drivers are ultimately responsible for driving safely.
While tougher enforcement could potentially help to slow down some speeding drivers, others will continue to drive faster than they should and cause accidents as a result. Because of the driver’s alleged negligence in this accident, the victims’ families may able to file a wrongful death claim against him.
Source: NBC 4, “Driver Jumps Curb, Kills Two Pedestrians in Queens: Cops“, November 12, 2013
