NYPD Crash Investigations
Streetsblog Basics
After a Fatal Crash, NYPD’s Initial Version of Events Often Turns Out Wrong
Yesterday, the 24-year-old driver of a U-Haul van struck and killed a 43-year-old cyclist at the Grand Concourse and 158th Street in the Bronx. Police investigators have made a preliminary determination that the van driver had the right of way, according to NYPD, but the agency has yet to reveal the basis for that conclusion.
April 6, 2015
Cy Vance: Senior’s Crosswalk Death Remains Unsolved After Seven Months
No charges were filed by NYPD or Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance against the driver who fatally struck 82-year-old Sui Leung in a Manhattan crosswalk last fall. Though Council Member Margaret Chin said the NYPD crash report indicated Leung was walking with the right of way, Vance's office says the investigation has yet to conclude seven months after the crash.
March 31, 2015
No Charges for Cab Driver Who Killed Two People on Bronx Sidewalk
No charges have been filed against a cab driver who drove onto a sidewalk in the Bronx and killed a man and a young girl.
March 23, 2015
DMV Suspends License of Driver Who Killed Mathieu Lefevre for Six Months
The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles found the truck driver who killed Brooklyn cyclist Mathieu Lefevre responsible for the collision and suspended his driver's license for six months.
March 17, 2015
No Word on Whether Trucker Who Killed Mathieu Lefevre Will Keep License
More than three years after the crash, the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles held a hearing today to determine whether to take action against the truck driver who killed cyclist Mathieu Lefevre. But Lefevre's family will have to wait on a DMV decision.
March 2, 2015
De Blasio Defends Right-of-Way Law to Dimwits in Albany [Updated]
Update [February 26]: The quote from the mayor has been updated to include his full response.
February 25, 2015
In Brooklyn, Another Alleged Unlicensed Driver Faces Wrist Tap for Killing
An allegedly unlicensed driver who killed a pedestrian in a Brooklyn crosswalk last month was not charged with criminal negligence by NYPD or District Attorney Ken Thompson. Meanwhile, legislation to increase the penalty for causing a death while driving without a valid license continues to languish in Albany.
January 29, 2015
Unlicensed, Hit-and-Run Drivers Kill First NYC Pedestrian Victims of 2015
Motorists struck four pedestrians in two crashes in Manhattan and the Bronx over the weekend, killing two victims. One driver in the Bronx was charged with leaving the scene and reckless driving, while another remains at large. The Manhattan motorist, operating a vehicle with TLC plates, was ticketed for driving without a license, though NYPD blamed the victims in the press. The drivers were not charged for causing death and injury by NYPD or district attorneys Cy Vance and Robert Johnson.
January 5, 2015
Vance Deal: $400 Fine for Unlicensed Driver Who Killed Senior in Crosswalk
An unlicensed driver who fatally struck a senior as she crossed the street with the right of way will pay a $400 fine, pursuant to a plea arrangement with Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance.
December 18, 2014
NYPD Still Doesn’t Investigate All Fatal Traffic Crashes
In 2013, Ray Kelly made the only significant traffic safety policy change in his exceptionally long tenure as police commissioner. Kelly promised to increase the staffing of NYPD's Collision Investigation Squad -- where, at the time, only 19 detectives were assigned to investigate crashes in a city with about 300 traffic deaths and 3,000 serious injuries every year. To ensure that more crashes received serious attention from NYPD, Kelly also said the department would retire a rule that limited CIS investigations to cases in which the victim was deemed "likely to die."
December 16, 2014