Statement from Transportation Alternatives after Tow Truck Driver Strikes and Kills a Pedestrian in Hit-and-Run in the Bronx
Traffic violence has killed 242 New Yorkers this year so far, 15 more than average.
20 pedestrians have been killed in the Bronx so far this year, in the most deadly year for Bronx pedestrians since 2020.
In New York City, parking is allowed at T-intersections where the crosswalk should be. DOT proposed and heard a rule change back in 2023, but the law remains unchanged.
THE BRONX, NY — Saturday morning, a tow truck driver hit and killed a 56-year-old woman in the crosswalk outside Montefiore Westchester Square Hospital. The driver did not stop. She was brought into the hospital and received care, but died from her injuries.
The tow truck driver turned into and killed this woman at the intersection of Seddon Street and St. Raymond Avenue, where there is no daylighting, a missing sidewalk, and two missing crosswalks. This is a T-intersection – where one road ends at the intersection – and without crosswalks, drivers are allowed to park even across the curb cut (where the sidewalk dips to allow access to cross the street for pedestrians). The deadly combination of no daylighting and parking where there should be crosswalks has created many T-intersections with dangerously low visibility. Drivers moving through similar T-intersections also killed 7-year-old Kamari Hughes in 2023 and 1-year-old Liam Mashni in 2022, both pedestrians.
New York City has allowed drivers to park blocking curb cuts at T-intersections since 2009, despite the fact that these parking spots dangerously limit visibility for drivers, bike riders, and pedestrians. DOT proposed and heard a rule change back in 2023, but the rule change remains stalled, and the intersections remain dangerous.
DOT has promised to daylight 1,000 intersections in the wake of the crash that killed Kamari Hughes – and they’ve fallen behind on that goal. There is legislation to mandate universal daylighting across the five boroughs in City Council, State Assembly, and State Senate. Daylighting, which removes the parking spaces closest to an intersection to increase visibility, reduces the number of pedestrians killed and severely injured by 45%.
Statement from Philip Miatkowski, Interim Deputy Executive Director at Transportation Alternatives:
“Today, a family and a community are grieving. We send our thoughts, our love, our support, and our condolences to her family and everyone who knew and loved her.”
“She deserved better. Simple, commonsense changes like daylighting every intersection, removing parking where crosswalks should be, and ensuring visibility will save lives. Crashes and losses like these don’t have to happen – they’re the result of policy, infrastructure, and design choices our city makes and upholds every single day. If we make changes, and we finally prioritize the safety of our people above the speed of our cars, we won’t have to suffer heart wrenching loss after heart wrenching loss.”
“A better New York City is possible. A New York City where you can walk to and from the hospital is possible. We have the tools to keep people safe – but our leaders need to act. New Yorkers can’t wait any longer for the city to begin universal daylighting and DOT to finally implement the stalled T-intersection rule.”
###
