Unsafe Intersections See Two Fatal Bus Accidents

According to the website crashstat.com, the intersection of Northern Boulevard and Union Street is the fifth most dangerous intersection in the city of New York for senior pedestrians and bicyclists. This was recently reinforced by the death of a young woman who was hit by an out of service Q44 bus at this intersection, making hers the second pedestrian death within 24 hours.

The bus apparently made a wide right turn onto Northern Boulevard. The pedestrian, Meilan Jin, was pronounced dead at the scene. This intersection has seen at least 23 other pedestrian accidents between 1995 and 2009. The second pedestrian death occurred in Manhattan at the corner of 125^th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue. An M60 bus travelling west on 125^th Street hit Willie Gomez, who died at St. Luke’s hospital.

Authorities at the New York City Department of Transportation say that the accident rate at the Northern Boulevard crash site has declined and that the last fatality was in 2008. They point to countdown signals and the reduction in the distance pedestrians must walk to cross the street successfully. The St. Nicholas and 125^th Street accident has been the scene of 52 pedestrian and bicycle accidents since 1995, none of them fatal.

Source: New York Times, “Two Pedestrians Are Fatally Struck by City Buses,” by Andy Newman, Feb. 23, 2012.