The Weekly Carnage

The Weekly Carnage is a Friday round-up of motor vehicle mayhem
across the metro region. For more on the origins and purpose of this
column, please read About the Weekly Carnage.

Editor’s note: Due to ongoing web site construction, Newsday content is again limited this week. Casualty reports are lower as a result. 

Fatal Crashes (20 Killed This Week, 93 Killed This Year*, 11 Drivers Charged**)

• Bronx: Unidentified Pedestrian Killed in Hit-and-Run (News)
• Staten Island: Motorcyclist Dies in Collision With Car (SI Advance)
• Briarcliff Manor: Baffling Wrong-Way Crash on Taconic Parkway Leaves Eight Dead (NYT, NYT, News)
• Related: Driver May Have Had Vision Problems; Cell Phone Found on Roadside (NYT, Newsday)
• Copiague, LI: Four Die in Head-On Crash; Drag Racing Suspected (News, Post, Newsday)
• Long Beach, LI: FedEx Driver Hits Cars, Kills Pedestrian; Police Eager to Exonerate (Newsday)
• East Meadow, LI: 68-Year-Old Pedestrian Killed by 82-Year-Old Driver (Post)
• Jamesport, LI: Two Dead, One Hurt When Car Crosses Center Line, Hits SUV (Newsday)
• Trumbull, CT: Speeding Driver Ejected From Vehicle After Hitting Another Car (CT Post, CT Post)
• Seaside Heights, NJ: “American Idol” Contestant Alexis Cohen Killed in Hit-and-Run (News)
• Related: Repeat DUI Offender Arrested, Charged With Manslaughter (Star-Ledger)

Injuries, Arrests and Property Damage

• Brooklyn: Reportedly Speeding Driver Hits Teen on Fulton Street (Streetsblog)
• Bronx: Off-Duty Officer Seriously Hurt When Motorcycle Hits Trash Truck (Post)
• Manhattan: Cab Combusts Outside Plaza Hotel; No Injuries (Post)
• Staten Island: Up to 11 Vehicles Involved in SI Expressway Pile-Up (SI Advance)
• Newark: Police Chase Ends in Crash, Shootout (Star-Ledger)
• Jersey City: Elected Aids Racing Motorcyclist After Crash, Calls for Prosecution (Jersey Journal)
• Greenwich, CT: Weather Cited in Two Crashes (CT Post)
• Fairfield, CT: SUV Flips in Three-Car Collision (CT Post)
• Fairfield Co.: DUI Exploits Lead to Three Arrests (CT Post)
• Mahopoc, NY: Driver-Cyclist Crash Sparks Flip Headline, All-Too-Predictable Comments (LoHud 1, 2)
• Yonkers: Six Injured in School Bus Crash (LoHud)
• West Nyack, NY: Wreck Leaves Three Hospitalized, One in Serious Condition (LoHud)
• Hunterdon Co., NJ: Man Arrested After Gunning Car at Trooper (Star-Ledger)
• Readington, NJ: Woman Trapped in Car After Colliding With Truck (Star-Ledger)
• New Rochelle: Car Plunges Onto Tracks, Barely Missing Amtrak Train and Passengers (LoHud)
• Farmingdale, LI: Car Crashes Into House, Causes Gas Leak, Injures “At Least One” (Newsday)
• Ramapo, NY: Camper Separates From SUV on Thruway (LoHud)

Following Up

• Manhattan: Police Continue Search for Driver Who Left Harlem Ped Near Death (News)
• Related: Mother of Two Originally Reported Killed (News)
• Brooklyn: Cop Who Lost Leg to Driver Leaves Hospital (News)
• Morristown, NJ: Unlicensed Hit-and-Run Driver Gets Probation for Killing Pedestrian (Star-Ledger)
• New Brunswick, NJ: Three Charged in Racing Crash That Left Another Driver in Coma (Star-Ledger)
• NJ.com Reader Wonders Why Plaxico Burress Should Do More Time Than Donte’ Stallworth
• Somerset Co., NJ: 18-Year-Old in DWI Crash Sues Tavern for Serving Her Alcohol (Star-Ledger)

Out of Town

• Asheville, NC: Driver Shoots Cyclist for Riding With Child (Streetsblog)
• Norfolk, VA: Staten Island Woman Killed in DUI Crash (SI Advance)
• Savannah, GA: Queens Man, Two Family Members Killed by Drunk Driver (News)
• Lockport, NY: Talking and Texting Tow Truck Driver Hits Car, House, Pool; 2 Injured (AP)
• Rome: After Losing Dad in 1992 Wreck, Australian Swimmer’s Brother Killed in Crash (AP)

Trends

• Ray Kelly Takes a Pass on Asking Albany for Traffic Cam Legislation (Streetsblog)
• New Jersey Officials Dumbstruck by Spiraling Ped Death Toll (Streetsblog)
• Stratford, CT: Police Remove Resident Signs Urging Drivers to Slow Down (CT Post)
• CT Alcohol-Related Deaths Drop; MADD Says Not Enough (CT Post)
• In the Hamptons, Driving Drunks Home Is a Cottage Industry (Newsday)
• Chuck Schumer Wants Federal Ban on Texting While Driving (LoHud)

* Since the week of June 8
** Drivers charged for deaths since the week of June 8, based on latest available reports