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.

Fatal Crashes (9 Killed This Week, 126 This Year*, 13 Drivers Charged**)

• Queens: Cyclist, TA Volunteer James Langergaard Killed on Queens Boulevard (Streetsblog)
• Related: Mourners Again Call for a Traffic-Calmed “Boulevard of Death” (News)
• Queens: 12-Year-Old Injured in Drag Race Dies; Drivers Charged With Manslaughter (Post)
• Bronx: Dad Killed Teaching His Son, 13, to Park Family SUV (Post)
• Newark: Motorcyclist Dead in Crash Involving Two Dump Trucks (Star-Ledger)
• Union City, NJ: Woman Struck, Killed by Truck Driver (Jersey Jrnl)
• Wading River, LI: Brooklyn Boy, 9, Exits SUV, Run Over Twice (Post)
• Commack, LI: Suspected Drunk Driver Kills Father of Six (Newsday)
• Dix Hills, LI: Woman, 93, Killed in Four-Vehicle Collision (Newsday)
• Suffern, NY: Family, Friends Mourn 21-Year-Old Killed in DWI Thruway Crash (LoHud)

Injuries, Arrests and Property Damage

• Manhattan: Cab Driver Goes Airborne, Hits Subway Station; No Known Charges (Streetsblog)
• Staten Island: Motorist Charged for July Assault on Cyclist in Bike Lane (SI Advance, Gothamist)
• Queens: Woman on Crack Hits Two Workers; One Loses Part of Leg (News)
• Queens: Day Camp Bus Driver Dies at the Wheel; Kids Reportedly Unhurt (NY1, AP)
• Coram, LI: Man Kicked Out of Unlicensed Night Club, Plows Through Building (News)
• East Meadow, LI: Enraged by Fender Bender, Man Threatens Other Driver, Injures Cops (Newsday)
• Greenlawn, LI: Three Hospitalized in Two-Car Wreck (Newsday)
• South Huntington, LI: Two Extricated From Vehicle in One-Car Crash (Newsday)
• Bedford, NY: Tree Branch Crashes Through Mini-Van Windshield, Injuring Driver (LoHud)
• Rye Brook, NY: Trucks Strike Parkway Bridge Twice in One Week (LoHud)
• Lincoln Park, NJ: 89-Year-Old Charged for Hit-and-Run Cyclist Collision (Star-Ledger)
• South Plainfield, NJ: 14-Year-Old Pedestrian Hit, Injured (Star-Ledger)
• Morristown, NJ: Man With 12 Prior DWI Convictions Awaits Latest Sentence (Star-Ledger)
• Union City, NJ: 17 Injured When Commuter Van, SUV Collide (Jersey Jrnl)
• Hillsborough, NJ: Teacher Charged With Drunk Driving in Crash That Injured Kids (1010 WINS)
• Hillsborough, NJ: Three Airlifted Following Three-Car Wreck (Star-Ledger)
• Hazlet, NJ: Wrong-Way Collision on Garden State Parkway (Star-Ledger)
• Raritan Twp, NJ: Woman Backs Into Police Cruiser, Charged With DUI (Hunterdon CD)
• New Milford, CT: Three Hospitalized in Two-Car Crash (CT Post)
• Bridgeport, CT: Tractor-Trailer Crushes Car Against Concrete Barrier; 2 Injured (CT Post)

Following Up

• Bronx: Mark St. Pierre Charged With Murder in July Road Rage Spree (Post)
• Manhattan: Akim Saiful Alam, Axel Pablo’s Cab-Driving Killer, Cleared by NYPD, TLC (Post)
• Related: Outraged Family Wants Justice (News)
• Manhattan: No Charges for Driver Don Broderick in Central Park Cyclist Hit-and-Run (Gawker)
• Related: NYPD, DA Morgenthau’s Office Approaches Case With Usual Nonchalance (Gawker)
• Meanwhile: Assaulted Cyclist Ray Bengen Still Waiting to Clear His Name (Streetsblog)
• Queens: Double DWI Killer Daryush Omar Sentenced to 3.5 to 10 Years (Post)
• Bronx: Parents of Michael Needham, Jr. Suing City for Unsafe Street Conditions (News)
• Westchester Co.: No Charges in Taconic Wrong-Way Crash (Post)
• Westfield, NJ: DUI Driver Charged With Aggravated Assault for Hitting Pedestrian (NJ Local)
• Pelham Manor, NY: Teen Rebuilds Life After Nearly Losing Leg to DWI Driver (LoHud)
• Rockland Co., NY: Man Indicted for Leaving Scene of 2008 Fatal Hit-and-Run (LoHud)
• Bethlehem, PA: NJ Prosecutor Fights Drunk Driving Charge (AP)

Out of Town

• Asheville, NC: Alleged Cyclist Shooter Charles Diez Loses Firefighter Job (Citizen-Times)
• Portland, OR: Cyclist Dragged by Driver and Passenger, in Serious Condition (BikePortland)
• Baltimore: Media Says Cyclist Was Killed by Turning Truck; PD Blames Cyclist (Sun, B’more Spokes)
• Miami, FL: Man in Argument Steals Car, Mows Down 5 Outside Bar (Herald via Transit Miami)
• North Troy, VT: Driver Veers Off Road, Hits 2 Pedestrians, Keeps Driving; 1 Dead (AP)
• Boise, ID: Married Couple, Ages 78 and 76, Hit, Killed in Crosswalk (KVAL)
• St. Charles Co., MO: 9-Year-Old Hit, Killed Rescuing Duck From Road (AP)
• Columbus, OH Cops, Newspaper: Fallen Pedestrians Usually Have It Coming (Xing Columbus)
• Phoenix, AZ: Man Accused of Using Cash for Clunkers to Ditch Car After Killing Cyclist (AP)
• Queen Creek, AZ: Wrong-Way Driver Kills Cyclist, Faces Manslaughter Charge (KNXV via TBAG)
• Washington, LA: Woman Drives Through Wall of Post Office (AP)
• Harare, Zimbabwe: Truck-Bus Collision Kills 11, Including Six in One Family (AP)
• Washington, DC: Right Wing Flack Robert Novak, Menace to Pedestrians, Is Dead (Politico, NYT)
• Ventura, CA: “Pulp Fiction” Writer Roger Avary Pleads Guilty in Fatal DWI Crash (AP)
• Baltimore: Prior DWI Offender Michael Phelps Had Suspended License, Drank Before Crash (News)
• London: George Michael Rear-Ends Truck With Range Rover; Insists He Was Sober (News, E!)

Warning: Graphic Video

Trends

• Unsolved Hit-and-Runs Plague Lower Hudson Valley (LoHud)
• As Killer Drivers Get Off, Plaxico Burress Gets 2 Years for Shooting Himself (Streetsblog, News)
• Related: Burress Will Do 23 Months More Than DWI Ped Killer Donte’ Stallworth (Fifth Down)
• NYPD “Cracks Down” on Cell-Phone Talking Drivers — for 24 Hours (WCBS)
• Wales Police Target Texting With Graphic PSA (News)
• Nassau Co. Prosecutors, Volunteers Drink and Drive for Anti-DWI Program (Newsday)
• NHTSA, FBI: Female Drunk Driving Arrests Up; Still Trail Men 4 to 1 (CBS)
• In Pedestrian and Cyclist Collisions, Witnesses Are Victims Too (Streetsblog SF)

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