Transportation Alternatives, Families for Safe Streets Respond to SUV Driver Jumping Curb and Killing Two in Queens

On Friday evening, the driver of a Land Rover SUV jumped a curb and killed a 54-year-old woman and an 8-year-old girl at the intersection of Jamaica Avenue and 164th Street in Queens. According to witnesses, the driver appeared to be rushing to beat a traffic light.

Statement of Transportation Alternatives Executive Director Danny Harris:

“Two more innocent New Yorkers are dead because of a transportation system which puts speed ahead of safety, and a culture which celebrates driving big, fast, and powerful vehicles. This is what happens when Vision Zero is reduced to a slogan. This is what happens when off-road vehicles invade our city streets. 

Earlier this year, Mayor de Blasio slashed the budget for Vision Zero and put programs on hold which would systematically redesign our most dangerous streets and impound the vehicles of our most dangerous drivers. We’re seeing the results of these decisions in real time. 

The mayor tweeted that his family sends prayers to the families of the victims. He must not stop there. To honor the victims of this preventable crash, the mayor must make Vision Zero whole, fully fund the Dangerous Vehicle Abatement Program, Green Wave Plan and Streets Master Plan, and empower his Department of Transportation to fix deadly streets without politics getting in the way.”   

Statement of Families for Safe Streets member Rita Barravecchio, whose 17-year-old niece Madeline Sershen was killed by a driver who ran a red light in Queens in 2018:  

“Are we not even safe on the sidewalk? How many more have to die because of ‘out-of-control’ vehicles? Witnesses said the driver appeared to be trying to beat the traffic light—something that happens all too often in this city.

It is heartbreaking to know that two more families are living a nightmare like mine has because of reckless driving. While Mayor de Blasio sends prayers to the victims' families, we’re demanding that the mayor will use his singular power to take control of his streets and make sure no other family will face the unimaginable anguish of losing a loved one due to preventable traffic violence.”