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Two recent articles discussed the dangers of driving while under the influence of cannabis, as well as broader policy discussions surrounding the issue. In the New York Times, a health columnaddressed whether driving while high is as dangerous as driving while drunk. The column argued that the question isn’t quite as clear-cut as drunk driving, which […]
DWI/Criminal
Suspect Arrested in Fatal Brooklyn Hit-and-Run
The driver who allegedly struck and killed a Brooklyn schoolteacher while speeding in May 2021 had two driving-related incidents in his past. As Streetsblog reported last week, the New York Police Department has said it arrested and charged the suspect, Tariq Witherspoon, a 30-year-old EMT “who hit and seriously injured a cyclist in 2017,” two years after he allegedly “allowed an […]
NYC Agencies Launch Traffic Safety Initiative During Holidays
Four New York City agencies announced they would step up traffic enforcement during the holiday season. In a press release issued last week, the New York City Police Department, New York City Department of Transportation, New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission, and New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene announced efforts “to crack down […]
New York Traffic Violence Roundup
Recent reports by the New York Post highlight a raft of deadly car crashes in New York City in the last few weeks, emphasizing the need for safer streets and more vigorous traffic enforcement. A December 12 notice, for instance, describes a car crash in Long Island last weekend in which the driver of a pickup […]
Traffic Violence Killed Two People in NYC Last Week
The death toll of New York City’s streets increased by at least two last week, according to reports by the New York Daily News and Streetsblog. The victims were a 33-year-old man who died after being struck by a reportedly “drugged-up” driver in Brooklyn, and a 78-year-old woman “run over and killed by the driver of a massive […]
New York City and State Authorities to Huddle over Reckless Driving
A letter obtained by New York City local news publication StreetsBlog reveals that the city’s Department of Transportation Commissioner is pursuing a meeting with the head of the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles to discuss solutions to the city’s fatal reckless driving problem. The letter, from DOT Commissioner Hank Gutman to DMV Commissioner Mark Schroeder, was sent on October […]
Why Hasn’t NYC Implemented Its New Reckless Driving Law?
The man suspected of killing a three-month-old baby in a reckless driving incident in Brooklyn earlier this month had a suspended licensed, 91 speeding tickets, and an arrest on his record for driving without a valid license, according to a report by StreetsBlog. The 28-year-old driver, Tyrik Mott, was also “racing the wrong way down Gates Avenue” when the […]
NYC Devotes $39 Million to End Car Crashes on McGuinness Boulevard
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has committed to carving out nearly $40 million from the city’s budget to redesign Brooklyn’s McGuinness Boulevard, site of eleven pedestrian deaths and three cyclist deaths since 1995. According to StreetsBlog, a single 1.25-mile stretch of McGuinness Boulevard, from the Pulaski Bridge to the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, has been […]
New York Safe Streets Activists Propose New Road Safety Legislation
Earlier this month a group of safe-streets lobbying groups in New York released the Crash Victims Rights and Safety Act, a collection of eight pieces of legislation “that will better support victims of traffic violence and make streets safer across New York State at a moment when traffic fatalities and speeding are both on the rise,” according […]
New York Post: New York Hospitals Sued for Releasing Dangerous Patients
Two New York City hospitals are being sued for the damages caused by the release of allegedly dangerous patients from their psychiatric wards. In the past month, two lawsuits have been filed against New York City hospitals alleging that the hospitals behaved in a negligent or careless manner when they released dangerous patients into the tri-state area. These patients […]
NY Court: After Drunk Son Drives Father’s Car Through House, Father May Be Liable
In 2012, a Long Island man, Daniel Sajewski, rammed his father’s red Mercedes-Benz through a Huntington house, narrowly missing the two elderly sisters that lived in the residence. Sajewski was, perhaps predictably, intoxicated – blowing an off-the-chart 0.30 on a breathalyzer, far exceeding New York’s 0.08 limit. In addition to losing their belongings (including a […]
Summary of Sit-down with Police Officer with Most DWI Arrests in New York
Police Officer Jason Behar has the impressive distinction of issuing the most DWI (Driving While Intoxicated) in the State of New York. The Port Chester Officer had issued 128 DUI arrests in the last year. Behar says that he is motivated to locate drunk or otherwise intoxicated drivers because of the “numerous accidents, some involving deaths.” […]
Teen Awaiting Manslaughter Trial Arrested Again for Vehicular Assault
Franklin Reyes, a Manhattan teenager awaiting trial for vehicular manslaughter stemming from the 2013 death of a four year old on the Upper West Side, is again in custody after allegedly dragging a police officer 100 feet during a traffic stop. The NY Daily News reports that during the stop, Reyes refused to put his […]
Long Island Woman Charged Under Leandra’s Law after Allegedly Driving Drunk with Five Children in the Car
Elba Ayala, a 43-year-old Shirley resident, was arrested over the Fourth of July weekend for allegedly driving drunk with five children in her car. The children ranged in age from seven months to eight-years-old. Another adult was also a passenger in the vehicle. Ayala was charged with one count of driving while intoxicated. Under Leandra’s Law, she […]
NY Cardiologist Charged with DWI after Car Crash Kills Mother of Three
Thomas Stavola, a 54-year-old cardiologist, was arrested and charged with a DWI in June 2014 after he crashed into a vehicle driven by Monica Peterman, a 45-year-old mother of three. Peterman was taken by ambulance to St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead. Stavola was taken to Stony Brook University Hospital where he was […]
Suffolk County DA Calls Upon Albany to Toughen Sentencing for Hit-and-Runs
Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota called upon Albany lawmakers in June 2014 to toughen the penalties for hit-and-run drivers. Spota stated that many drivers who are drunk or impaired by drugs often flee the scene of accidents because they know that hit-and-run penalties are not as severe as sentences for DWI charges. Spota remarked, “A drunk or […]
Inmates File Class-Action Lawsuit Alleging Deplorable and Inhumane Conditions in Suffolk County Jails
In April 2012, over 100 former and current inmates at the Riverhead and Yaphank jail facilities in Suffolk County, Long Island filed a lawsuit claiming that the conditions of the facilities were inhumane and deplorable. The lawsuit states that the alleged conditions at the jails violate the inmates’ constitutional rights because the jails’ conditions amount to cruel […]
New York Man Files Lawsuit Alleging Excessive Force by Nassau County Police Officers
Westbury resident Kyle Howell, 20, filed a lawsuit in early May 2014 against the Nassau County Police Department (NCPD) that claims two officers used excessive force against him during a routine traffic stop on April 25, 2014. After being punched and kneed in the face by the officers, Howell suffered from a broken nose, facial fractures, nerve […]
Police Arrest 16-Year-Old Juvenile for Setting High Rise Fire that Killed NYPD Officer
Detectives arrested 16-year-old Marcell Dockery for allegedly starting a fire in an 18-story apartment building in Coney Island in April 2014. The fire severely injured NYPD officer Rosa Rodriguez, 36, and killed Dennis Guerra, 38, also an NYPD officer. Both officers were responding to 911 calls that a fire had started in a Coney Island […]
Former NYC Employee Sentenced to Probation for Falsifying Crane Inspection Records
Justice Thomas Farber of the State Supreme Court in Manhattan sentenced former city employee Edward J. Marquette, 51, to five years probation in February 2013 for falsifying crane inspection records. In July 2012, Farber found Marquette guilty of filing a false instrument, falsifying business records and official misconduct. However, Marquette was found not guilty of […]
Registered Nurse Charged with Stealing Morphine Intended for Patients
Katherine Falzetta, 23, a Registered Nurse at the Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital in Clinton, New York, was arrested in May 2013 for stealing morphine from patients not under her care. Falzetta appeared in Plattsburgh City Court before Judge Mark Rogers and was released on her own recognizance. She was charged with first-degree falsifying business records, […]
MTA Driver Killed, Three Injured, after Stolen Truck Collides with Bus in the City
William Pena, 49, a 17-year veteran of the MTA and a father of a 14-year-old daughter, was killed in February 2014 after a stolen box truck driven by Domonic Whilby, 22, crashed into the bus he was driving in Greenwich Village. According to police, Pena was thrown from the driver’s seat and landed under the […]
Suffolk County Police Sergeant Arrested for Stealing from Latino Drivers During Traffic Stops
A 25-year veteran of the Suffolk County Police Department in Long Island, New York was arrested in January 2014 for stealing $100 from an undercover Latino police officer pulled over during a traffic stop. Suffolk County Police Sergeant Scott Greene, 50, was caught on a hidden surveillance camera planted in the undercover car stealing the […]
Brooklyn Judge Arrested for DWI
A Brooklyn Supreme Court justice was arrested last week in upstate New York on suspicion of drunk driving. According to the NY Post, the judge failed a roadside sobriety test and also refused to agree to a blood test. The judge has a court date set for later this month. The Post did not provide […]
Homicide Charges Dismissed in Long Island DWI Case
A Suffolk County judge has dismissed all charges that had been pending against a teenager in Long Island following a crash that led to the death of a passenger in his car. The accident occurred in the Hamptons last year, and was at first suspected to be a DWI. The DWI charge was dropped when […]
