Week of Feb 9

A Deadly Crash Outside a Senior Residence

The minivan pulled away from Eunhae Adult Daycare in Queens. It never made it far. The 74-year-old driver lost control on Brookville Boulevard. The van slammed into a senior residential home. One woman, 78, died. Three others, all elderly, were injured.

She had lived in the residence for years. A place meant for care became a site of carnage.

A Pattern of Neglect

This was not an isolated tragedy. Four of the six people killed in crashes this week were over 75. One was hit while crossing with the signal. Another was struck at an intersection. The city knows older pedestrians are at the highest risk. It knows intersections remain dangerous. And yet, it moves too slowly to protect them.

Last year, pedestrian fatalities surged by 21%. Seniors bore the brunt of it. The city promised safer streets. It failed.

The City’s Broken Promises

Vision Zero was supposed to end deaths like these. Instead, the streets remain deadly. “There’s both the opportunity and obligation for the city government to be addressing traffic crashes and people, New Yorkers, dying on the streets when they’re hit by a car with the same seriousness that they’re obviously taking people who are shot and killed in gun violence deaths,” said Ben Furnas of Transportation Alternatives.

The city has tools that work—lower speed limits, raised crosswalks, hardened daylighting. But it moves too slow. And seniors keep dying.

How Many More?

A woman died outside her senior home. An 83-year-old was killed crossing the street. A 77-year-old suffered crush injuries at an intersection. These are not accidents. They are failures. And they will happen again.

New York must act. It has failed too many. It cannot keep failing.

Take action now. Because if the city won’t protect its elders, who will?

← 90 Years in NYC—Killed in Seconds. No Charges. No Change. Another Cyclist Dead. Another Family Shattered. NYC Knew—And Did Nothing. →

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