The man was walking from the South side of 106th street to the North side when he was hit. Image of intersection via Google Streetview.
A 44-year-old man was hit and injured on Monday by a vehicle registered with the Taxi and Limousine Commission. The driver drove off after the collision, according to police and a friend of the victim.
The man was walking from the Southwest corner of the intersection to the Northwest corner (where the Ellington is) at around 1:20 p.m. when he was hit by a gray livery cab, witnesses told his family, according to the family friend who contacted us. “Someone chased the cab, but couldn’t catch it,” she said.
An NYPD officer emailed the following description:
“In regards to the collision at W106 st & Amsterdam ave witnesses state that the pedestrian was crossing the street in the crosswalk and with the light in their favor when unknown lincoln TLC plates made a left turn and struck pedestrian. Unknown lincoln did flee the scene of the collision. Pedestrian was removed to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.”
Another NYPD sergeant said the Lincoln was gray.
The man was taken to St. Luke’s Hospital with multiple injuries. If you have information, contact the 24th precinct at 212-678-1811.
Be careful crossing the street! It’s dangerous out there.
YET ANOTHER SENSELESS VICTIM OF THE SCOURGE OF RADICALLY DANGEROUS BICYCLISTS.
CIS (Collision Investigation Squad) has a good track record on catching hit-and-run drivers. They were able to catch the driver who killed a 27-year-old bicyclist last week on the City Island bridge, and the driver who killed Guler Ugur at Amsterdam and 112th last New Year’s Eve.
CIS is lightly staffed and only gets called in when the victims are critically injured or killed, as I understand it. When that’s not the case, like here or in the unsolved case last year when a truck driver ran over a mom and her son in Lincoln Square, I hope the precincts have access to everything they need to catch the hit-and-run drivers. Maybe TLC can help here since this was a TLC vehicle.
It’s more likely, I fear, that police are looking for a way to wrap this up by blaming the injured victims. With respect, it would be great to see a shift towards a more protective (less hostile) view. I think the neighborhood would really appreciate this.
You hit the nail on the head. Cis is great, but only assist when the victim is critical or likely (to pass). Without them, all precincts can do is view nearby camera footage and hope to catch a plate. 24 commander Larin is top-notch, so let’s hope they catch this tlc driver.
Top notch? He recently bragged about giving 135 tickets to bicycles in a month – more than the number of tickets given to speeding, texting, and failure to yield combined. And then this (failure to yield) happened. Oops!
I think you just hit the nail on the head when you mentioned that the NYPD tends to “wrap things up” by blaming the victim. It happens way to often in this city. It’s the so called windshield perspective that adds insult to injury.
I’m glad to see that WSR used the word “collision” and not “accident” which tends to exonerate the guilty parties.
Yes, the police and the DAs are doing a bang-up job. “Of 11 fatal crashes on surface streets [in August] reported by Streetsblog and other outlets, no motorists were known to have been charged for causing a death.” See https://www.streetsblog.org/2015/09/24/dot-drivers-injured-1323-pedestrians-and-cyclists-in-august-and-killed-14/
While I feel for the person who got hit and by all accounts, he was in the right, it baffles me that so many people walk against the light. I’m not talking about people who are distracted, but rather people who look right at the driver and challenge them. I am both a driver and walker. My hand is always on the horn. I always slow down at intersections, even if I have the green light. People with baby carriages are the worse. I don’t get it. I don’t have a death wise, I wish they didn’t. It would be me to suffer if I killed someone.
We live here, and don’t need our senses assualted by your 105 decibel horn when sitting in our living rooms, just because you’re unhappy about a pedestrian who got into your god-given way!
Not sure why this seemed like an appropriate place for the comment? Story states that ped had a green light (and he must have for taxi to be making a left turn). Have you ever had to cross this intersection? I try to be hypervigilant , because of the turning issue and I know there have been lots of accidents here but you shouldn’t have to be in a state of high anxiety crossing the street.
“Story states that ped had a green light (and he must have for taxi to be making a left turn)”
This is why there is friction between pedestrians and vehicles. At the majority of intersections in question, there are pedestrians signals that should be adhered to by pedestrians. Those are specifically designed for pedestrians. The traffic signals are for vehicles and are secondary to pedestrian signals.
Pedestrians don’t ‘have green lights’ when the pedestrian signal is flashing red are they are required to not begin crossing the the street when that occurs. Vehicles can still have a green light and that is the only small window of opportunity for them to have the absolute right-of-way to make a turn. Otherwise, vehicles would never be able to turn if a pedestrian steps off the curb as is common in NY at every intersection.
The redesign of this terrible street can’t happen soon enough.
One would have thought that the bike tickets the 24th precinct has been issuing would have prevented this.
You mean they didn’t?
Your headline is unclear and arguably misleading. The driver was not a Taxi Commission driver, he/she was licensed by the Taxi Commission.
I had the same exact thought at first read of the headline. Definitely misleading.
We’ll edit it to reflect that the driver is licensed by TLC. WSR
I cannot count the number of livery cabs I see running red lights on broadway, particularly turing from the southbound lane going east. I see it every day. I get it that because it is a two way street with a median, you almost always will encounter a red light when looking to turn, and if no cars are coming up the other side it looks enticing to blow the red light to save a few seconds. But there are pedestrians and cyclists that they dont always see, and its just a metter of time before they hit someone. I have never seen a cop ticket one of these drivers.
Cars are not required to stop at the median on Broadway unless it it signposted to do such. It’s the same as making a left turn on any 2-way street without a median. Police officers have confirmed this to me. They will not ticket such a situation because the ticket would be deemed invalid.
From the NY Times, May 1, 2011
I’m not sure if this clears up the issue, but does explain why some drivers cross the Broadway median against the light.
https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/01/nyregion/answers-to-questions-about-new-york.html?_r=0
Under New York State and City traffic law, a crossing at a divided highway is considered one intersection if the median is less than 30 feet wide. Crossings with a median strip 30 feet wide or more are considered two intersections, and these medians should have their own signals requiring a stop on red if making a left turn.
The median dividing Broadway is generally about 20 feet wide, said Scott Gastel, a spokesman for the city’s Department of Transportation, adding that, in the absence of any contrary signals, left turns at those intersections are permitted if it is safe. But there are exceptions. At some of the narrower medians, the Transportation Department places “Stop Here on Red” signs. Where there is such a traffic control sign covering the median itself, the driver must wait for a green light before completing the turn.
The paramount issue is safety. Mr. Gastel reiterated the comment by the deputy police commissioner, Paul J. Browne, that drivers should always exercise caution when turning left at the narrower intersections. Many are partly obscured with poles and plantings and can impede the view of oncoming traffic. Left turns at night can be dangerous, especially if an oncoming vehicle has a broken headlight. Drivers going straight on Broadway have the right of way over those making a turn.
For these and other reasons, it is often wise to stop and wait, even if it is technically legal to go.
Interesting. Well that explains the numerous accidents I have encountered at Broadway intersections over the years. Southbound cars making a left against the light, not seeing the northbound car. The 86th intersection is the worst.