Two 73-year-olds died Wednesday hours apart, struck down in the Bronx and Brooklyn, bringing to 91 the number of victims in traffic accidents so far this year in NYC.
The fatal count was denounced by the advocacy group Transportation Alternatives.
Teddy Orzechowski died around 11:05 p.m. Wednesday after spending 19 days in the hospital after his bicycle was struck by the driver of an SUV in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
The septuagenarian was riding his electric bike west on Driggs Ave. when a 62-year-old man driving a 2017 Infiniti QX6 SUV southbound on Monitor St. struck him in the crosswalk at the intersection around 4:22 p.m. May 12.
Paramedics took Orzechowski to Elmhurst Hospital Center, where he was initially listed in stable condition but later died. The Infiniti driver was uninjured in the collision and remained on the scene. No charges were immediately filed against him and the investigation is ongoing.
Also Wednesday, a pedestrian was fatally struck by the driver of a pickup truck in the Bronx.
The victim was walking in the right lane southbound of Hutchinson River Parkway when he was struck by the driver of a 2011 Chevrolet Silverado near Tremont Ave. around 12:50 p.m. Wednesday, police said.
He suffered serious chest injuries. Paramedics rushed him to Jacobi Medical Center, but were unable to save him. The 24-year-old who was driving the van was not immediately charged, although police are still investigating the incident, he said. Daily News. The names of those involved were not released.
This week the Mexican Edgar José Torres Hernández (35) also died in a hospital in Brooklyn (NYC), where he was held for several days after his bicycle was hit by an SUV.
In addition to armed violence, traffic accidents are another great challenge for Mayor Eric Adams. This is despite “Vision Zero,” a road safety plan created in 2014 by then-new mayor Bill de Blasio, who promised to make the city safer for pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists with a goal of zero deaths. by 2024.
In 2023, in addition to cyclists, several pedestrians have been killed in NYC, including three on the same night in early April, one of them a 62-year-old Hispanic in East Harlem.
The New York authorities recall that there is zero tolerance for drivers who speed and/or drive under the influence of alcohol.