Transportation Alternatives Statement After Bronx Teenager Walking To School Killed By Off-Route Truck Driver In Morris Park
BRONX, N.Y. — Today, a turning truck driver killed 16-year-old Alissa Kolenovic, a student at Cascades High School, who was walking to school in Morris Park.
Kolenovic is the ninth child (age 18 and younger) and 73rd person overall killed so far this year on New York City streets. The number of children 18 and under killed in traffic crashes is 125 percent higher this year than in the same time period in 2021.
Kolenovic is the 17th person to be killed in the Bronx this year. Total traffic fatalities in the Bronx are 55 percent higher than both last year and the Vision Zero-era average.
Kolenovic was killed by a truck driver turning from Paulding Avenue to Neill Avenue. Neither street is a permitted truck route. At least 67 people have been injured on this stretch of Neill Avenue in the past five years. The truck involved in the crash had racked up more than 125 violations since August 2018, totaling nearly $10,000 in fines, including 29 violations in the past year.
Statement from Transportation Alternatives Executive Director Danny Harris
“This morning, Alissa Kolenovic, a 16-year-old child, was killed on her way to school by an off-route turning truck driver. We send our deepest condolences to Alissa’s family. We are devastated and furious to hear of another preventable death of a child this year.”
“Alissa Kolenovic was killed in a predictable and preventable traffic crash, and tragically, she is not alone. Nine children aged 18 and younger have been killed in traffic crashes already this year — nine children who won’t get a chance to go to college, might not have finished high school, and will not get to grow up — a fatality rate that is 125 percent higher than it was this time last year.”
“Our streets are in a crisis that will only be stemmed by immediate government action. Mayor Adams and Governor Hochul must invest in and expand the Vision Zero tools that have proven effective: the redesign of streets, the expansion of automated enforcement, and the lowering of speed limits. At the state level, we need the legislature to act this session so New York City’s speed camera and red light camera programs are strengthened, and the entire Crash Victim Rights and Safety Act is voted into law.”
“At the city level, we need to fast track the implementation of the NYC Streets Plan and expand traffic calming infrastructure proven to slow drivers, increase visibility, and make walking and biking safe: curb extensions, protected intersections, daylit intersection, crosswalks with leading-pedestrian interval signals, and many more entirely car-free corridors — all changes that could be implemented citywide and could have saved Alissa Kolenovic’s life.”
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