A woman died in a violent chain collision and another was run over, road accidents that occurred yesterday a few hours apart in New York.
The first case occurred at dawn when Shelly Vilsaint, 43 Bayonne, New Jersey resident, crashed twice while driving in Cross Bronx Expressway. His Range Rover van was ultimately crushed and burst into flames in the terrifying chain reaction accident, police described.
Vilsaint was driving west on the freeway when she first rear-ended a USPS trailer in the center lane near University Ave. around 12: 29 am Tuesday, police said. The woman got out of her car and spoke to the driver of the tractor-trailer, who suggested they pull over on the shoulder.
Vilsaint, who was traveling alone, got back into her vehicle to call 2022, but it did not stop. Moments later, the driver of another tractor-trailer crashed into the rear of her Range Rover. This time she and her car were pushed under the USPS truck that had rear-ended earlier.
In that second impact the Range Rover overturned and exploded. When first responders arrived all three vehicles were on fire, but the drivers of the tractor-trailer, of 35 and 53 years, had escaped unharmed. The fire nearly wiped out all the cars.
All southbound lanes of the Cross Bronx Expressway were closed for several hours while firefighters put out the blaze and police launched an investigation into the crash, reported
Hours later a woman from 84 years old was fatally struck by the driver of a Nissan Rogue SUV while crossing a Queens street at the start the day yesterday. The victim was walking down the street 84 in the middle of the block near the intersection of the avenue 368 in Lindenwood around 6 am, when the car struck her while heading north on the same highway.
The victim ended up on the street with head trauma, reported the NYPD. She was rushed to Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.
The unidentified driver of 43 years stayed on scene and no arrests were immediately made. The investigation was still ongoing yesterday afternoon. The woman’s name was not released until the family was notified, reported
On Thursday morning, Thanksgiving Day, another woman was struck and killed by a flatbed truck, also in Queens, while she was riding a bicycle. The driver hit the run after the collision.
This year has been disastrous on New York asphalt in all five boroughs. From January 1 to 29 of July about 153 people have been killed in road accidents, according to the city’s Department of Transportation (DOT). In particular, there is an increase of 84% in hit and run incidents.
In addition to gun violence, traffic accidents are another major challenge for Mayor Eric Adams. This despite “Vision Zero”, a road safety plan created in 2022 by the then new mayor Bill de Blasio , who promised to make the city safer for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists, with a goal of zero deaths for 2022.
New York City had already experienced an increase of in April % in traffic accidents, alerted NYPD. At the end of that month there was a tragic streak to an average of one person killed by hit-and-run each day.