Transportation Alternatives and Families for Safe Streets Statements After Crashes Kill Seven New Yorkers Since Thanksgiving
Crashes have killed 229 people in 2022 — 24% higher than this point in 2018, the safest year under Vision Zero
Three of the seven fatal crashes were hit-and-runs
NEW YORK — Since Thanksgiving, seven New Yorkers were killed in traffic crashes, bringing this year’s fatalities to 229. The seven reported fatalities include:
A 43-year-old woman biking on Liberty Avenue on Thanksgiving who was killed by the driver of a tractor-trailer as it turned onto the Van Wyck Expressway service road. The driver dragged her several feet and kept driving, leaving her on the ground.
A 64-year-old pedestrian who was killed by an SUV driver in Far Rockaway. City Council District 31 ranks 11th out of 51 for the most fatalities and seventh for most injuries.
53-year-old Lucas Jimenez Aburto, a father of 12, leaving work who was killed by a hit-and-run driver in the East Village.
A driver who was killed in a collision with two tractor-trailers in Morris Heights. This was the Bronx’s 400th fatality since Vision Zero began in 2014.
Three of the seven fatal crashes were hit-and-runs. During the third quarter of 2022, hit-and-runs nearly doubled compared to the second quarter of the year. In some years, it would take nine months to reach 30 reported hit-and-runs resulting in death or critical injury. In the third quarter of 2022 alone, there were 30.
Statement from Elizabeth Adams, Senior Director for Advocacy & Organizing at Transportation Alternatives:
“We cannot continue to accept this level of traffic violence as normal. The holidays should be a time to be with loved ones, yet too many families face this heartbreaking loss each year. We send our deepest condolences to the loved ones of the seven New Yorkers lost in crashes since Thanksgiving.”
“With only a month left in 2022, Mayor Adams and Commissioner Rodriguez must expedite the implementation of the NYC Streets Plan. Building out protected bike and bus lanes, expanding pedestrian space, and physically protecting intersections will save lives and protect New Yorkers from traffic violence.”
Statement from Families for Safe Streets member Yolanda Nieves:
“My beloved son Matthew Travis Palacios was 25 when he was killed by a driver while he was riding his bike in East Harlem on November 9, 2019. Matthew brought so much love and passion to this world through his dancing, wrestling, and dedication to his family and he should be here today. This was the fourth Thanksgiving my family and I had to spend without him. This is a time for loved ones to come together. Instead, Families for Safe Streets — the club nobody should be a part of — gained new members as traffic violence killed seven people across New York City since Thanksgiving.”
“Traffic violence is preventable. Our elected officials have to do everything in their power to stop crashes and save lives. This coming session legislators in Albany must pass the SAFE Streets Act — a life-saving package of bills that would empower communities across the state to take action to make streets safer.”
