Deadliest Intersection in NYC Saw 523 Accidents in 12 Years

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delancey-and-essex-streetNY – Crossing Delancey is taking your life in your hands. In the last dozen years, there have been 523 motor vehicle accidents at the intersection of Essex and Delancey Sts. – 134 involving pedestrians and bicyclists – according to figures for 1998 to 2010 obtained from the state Department of Transportation.Three people died.

The most recent was Patricia Crockett of Brooklyn, who was crushed under the rear wheels of a private sanitation truck turning left on Essex St. as she crossed Delancey St. outside the crosswalk on May 10.

“I believe it is the most dangerous intersection on the East Side of Manhattan,” lawyer Sanford Rubenstein told the Daily News. He has filed a lawsuit against the owner and driver of the truck, and notice of a $20 million suit against the city.

Rubenstein said it appears Crockett was forced to walk in the roadway because there were concrete barriers along the curb and an orange barricade at the corner of Delancey placed there earlier by city workers after a sidewalk collapse.

According to state DOT records, there have been a total of 258 injuries due to motor vehicle accidents at the intersection. The vast majority of the accidents occurred on dry roadway, and only 20 involved trucks.

NYPD spokesman Paul Browne did not respond to a request for comment about police enforcement at the intersection.

A spokesman for the city Department of Transportation said steps have been taken to make Delancey and Essex Sts. safer and more are planned.

“The agency added a leading pedestrian interval at Essex and Delancey in 2008, giving pedestrians exclusive time to cross the street ahead of turning vehicles,” DOT spokesman Monty Dean said in a statement. “Pedestrian countdown signals will [also] be installed, helping pedestrians to avoid being caught in the crosswalk when the light changes.”

Dean noted that reengineered streets and retimed traffic signals led to 21% fewer pedestrian fatalities in 2010 than in 2001.

“Our goal is to cut traffic injuries and fatalities even further, and we’ll continue to work with communities to make their streets safer for pedestrians, bikers and motorists,” he said.

{NY Daily News/Matzav.com Newscenter}


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