Who’s Injuring and Killing Pedestrians in East Williamsburg?
Blood on Graham Avenue—How Many More Will Die Before City Hall Acts?
East Williamsburg: Jan 1, 2022 - Jul 19, 2025
The Toll in Blood and Bone
East Williamsburg does not make headlines. But the streets keep score. Seven people have died here since 2022. Over 1,250 have been hurt. Twenty-three left with wounds so deep they will not heal. The numbers are not just numbers. They are bodies on Graham Avenue, bikes crushed at Morgan and Johnson, a pedestrian thrown under a truck at Withers and Woodpoint. The disaster moves slow, but it does not stop.
Just last year, a cyclist was killed at Graham and Conselyea. A dump truck turned left. The man was thrown and did not get up. In March, another pedestrian was crushed by a truck at Withers and Woodpoint. The pattern is clear. Trucks turning. Drivers not seeing. People dying.
Who Pays the Price?
Cars and trucks do the most damage. They killed two. They hurt over a hundred. Bikes and mopeds are not blameless, but their toll is smaller. The street does not care who you are. It only cares if you are in the way.
The city counts the bodies. It does not always count the cost. A mother waits at the crosswalk. A cyclist rides home from work. A child steps off the curb. The street takes them all.
What Leaders Have Done—and Not Done
Local leaders have taken some steps. State Senator Julia Salazar voted yes on a bill to force repeat speeders to install speed limiters, aiming to stop the worst offenders. Assembly Member Maritza Davila co-sponsored the same bill. But the work is not done. The city can lower speed limits to 20 mph. It has not done so here. Council Member Jennifer Gutiérrez co-sponsored a bill to ban parking near crosswalks, but the curb is still crowded.
The numbers do not lie. Crashes are up 18% this year. Serious injuries have tripled. The disaster is not fate. It is policy.
“Daylighting streets is necessary, but a bare minimum.” said Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso
“Lowering vehicle speed limits by even a few miles per hour could be the difference between life or death in a traffic crash.” said DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez
Act or Wait for the Next Siren
This is not an accident. It is a choice. Call your council member. Call the mayor. Demand a 20 mph limit. Demand speed limiters for repeat offenders. Demand daylight at every corner. Do not wait for another name on the list.
Citations
▸ Citations
- Driver Kills Girlfriend Doing Donuts, New York Post, Published 2025-07-16
- Motor Vehicle Collisions – CrashID 4593865, NYC Open Data, Accessed 2025-07-19
- File S 4045, Open States, Published 2025-06-11
- File A 2299, Open States, Published 2025-01-16
- BP Reynoso: DOT Must Open its Street Safety Toolkit on Atlantic Ave., Streetsblog NYC, Published 2025-01-29
- Speed limit in Dumbo to be lowered to 20 mph as nabe becomes Brooklyn’s first ‘Regional Slow Zone’, brooklynpaper.com, Published 2025-03-19
- Child Hit Near Sheepshead Bay Playground, ABC7, Published 2025-07-19
- Brooklyn Drivers Charged In Deadly Crashes, NY Daily News, Published 2025-07-18
- Brooklyn Pedestrian Killed Crossing Cropsey Avenue, Gothamist, Published 2025-07-18
- Driver Doing Donuts Kills Girlfriend, NY Daily News, Published 2025-07-15
- Can New York City Fix Its Deadly ‘Conduit’ to JFK Airport?, Streetsblog NYC, Published 2025-05-13
- After deadly Brooklyn crash, pols push for ‘speed limiters’ on vehicles owned by notoriously reckless drivers to force safe travel, amny.com, Published 2025-03-31
- DOT: Safety Improvements on Atlantic Avenue? Wait Two More Years, Streetsblog NYC, Published 2025-02-06
Other Representatives
District 53
673 Hart St. Unit C2, Brooklyn, NY 11237
Room 844, Legislative Office Building, Albany, NY 12248
District 34
244 Union Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11211
718-963-3141
250 Broadway, Suite 1747, New York, NY 10007
212-788-7095
District 18
212 Evergreen Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11221
Room 514, Legislative Office Building, Albany, NY 12247
▸ Other Geographies
East Williamsburg East Williamsburg sits in Brooklyn, Precinct 90, District 34, AD 53, SD 18, Brooklyn CB1.
▸ See also
Traffic Safety Timeline for East Williamsburg
E-Scooter Driver Ejected in Brooklyn Crash▸A 25-year-old man riding an e-scooter was ejected and left unconscious with facial injuries in Brooklyn. The crash damaged the scooter’s right side doors. Police cited driver inattention as the cause. No other vehicles showed damage.
According to the police report, a 25-year-old male e-scooter driver was injured and ejected during a crash in Brooklyn near Graham Avenue. The driver suffered facial contusions and was unconscious at the scene. The e-scooter sustained damage to its right side doors. The report lists driver inattention or distraction as the contributing factor. No other vehicles involved showed damage or occupants. The victim was the sole occupant and driver of the e-scooter. The report does not mention any helmet use or other safety equipment. The crash highlights the dangers posed by driver distraction in motorized vehicle incidents.
Sedan Slams Head-On, Passenger Bleeds in Back Seat▸A Toyota sedan crashed head-on on Humboldt Street near Meeker Avenue. Four inside. The right front was crushed. One man in the back bled from the head. The car reeked of alcohol. No airbags. No belts. Night, metal, blood.
A 2007 Toyota sedan crashed head-on on Humboldt Street near Meeker Avenue at 3:16 a.m. Four people were inside. According to the police report, the right front of the car was crushed. One man in the back seat suffered a head injury and severe bleeding but was conscious. The report states, 'The car reeked of alcohol.' Alcohol involvement was listed as a contributing factor for the driver and all passengers. No airbags deployed. Some occupants wore no seat belts. The crash data highlights 'Alcohol Involvement' as the primary driver error. No other contributing factors were listed.
2Speeding Sedan Slams Dump Truck, Passenger Killed▸A sedan tore down Morgan Avenue. It smashed into a dump truck’s rear. Metal screamed. The front passenger, 22, died from a head wound. Another passenger, 21, broke his arm. The car was wrecked. Speed and ignored signals led to blood and silence.
A sedan traveling north on Morgan Avenue near Division Place in Brooklyn struck the rear of a dump truck. According to the police report, the sedan was moving at unsafe speed and disregarded traffic control. The front passenger, age 22, suffered a fatal head injury and died at the scene. Another passenger, age 21, sustained a fractured arm. The sedan was demolished. The police report lists 'Unsafe Speed' and 'Traffic Control Disregarded' as contributing factors. The front passenger’s airbag deployed during the crash. No driver or passenger actions beyond these errors are cited in the report.
A 25-year-old man riding an e-scooter was ejected and left unconscious with facial injuries in Brooklyn. The crash damaged the scooter’s right side doors. Police cited driver inattention as the cause. No other vehicles showed damage.
According to the police report, a 25-year-old male e-scooter driver was injured and ejected during a crash in Brooklyn near Graham Avenue. The driver suffered facial contusions and was unconscious at the scene. The e-scooter sustained damage to its right side doors. The report lists driver inattention or distraction as the contributing factor. No other vehicles involved showed damage or occupants. The victim was the sole occupant and driver of the e-scooter. The report does not mention any helmet use or other safety equipment. The crash highlights the dangers posed by driver distraction in motorized vehicle incidents.
Sedan Slams Head-On, Passenger Bleeds in Back Seat▸A Toyota sedan crashed head-on on Humboldt Street near Meeker Avenue. Four inside. The right front was crushed. One man in the back bled from the head. The car reeked of alcohol. No airbags. No belts. Night, metal, blood.
A 2007 Toyota sedan crashed head-on on Humboldt Street near Meeker Avenue at 3:16 a.m. Four people were inside. According to the police report, the right front of the car was crushed. One man in the back seat suffered a head injury and severe bleeding but was conscious. The report states, 'The car reeked of alcohol.' Alcohol involvement was listed as a contributing factor for the driver and all passengers. No airbags deployed. Some occupants wore no seat belts. The crash data highlights 'Alcohol Involvement' as the primary driver error. No other contributing factors were listed.
2Speeding Sedan Slams Dump Truck, Passenger Killed▸A sedan tore down Morgan Avenue. It smashed into a dump truck’s rear. Metal screamed. The front passenger, 22, died from a head wound. Another passenger, 21, broke his arm. The car was wrecked. Speed and ignored signals led to blood and silence.
A sedan traveling north on Morgan Avenue near Division Place in Brooklyn struck the rear of a dump truck. According to the police report, the sedan was moving at unsafe speed and disregarded traffic control. The front passenger, age 22, suffered a fatal head injury and died at the scene. Another passenger, age 21, sustained a fractured arm. The sedan was demolished. The police report lists 'Unsafe Speed' and 'Traffic Control Disregarded' as contributing factors. The front passenger’s airbag deployed during the crash. No driver or passenger actions beyond these errors are cited in the report.
A Toyota sedan crashed head-on on Humboldt Street near Meeker Avenue. Four inside. The right front was crushed. One man in the back bled from the head. The car reeked of alcohol. No airbags. No belts. Night, metal, blood.
A 2007 Toyota sedan crashed head-on on Humboldt Street near Meeker Avenue at 3:16 a.m. Four people were inside. According to the police report, the right front of the car was crushed. One man in the back seat suffered a head injury and severe bleeding but was conscious. The report states, 'The car reeked of alcohol.' Alcohol involvement was listed as a contributing factor for the driver and all passengers. No airbags deployed. Some occupants wore no seat belts. The crash data highlights 'Alcohol Involvement' as the primary driver error. No other contributing factors were listed.
2Speeding Sedan Slams Dump Truck, Passenger Killed▸A sedan tore down Morgan Avenue. It smashed into a dump truck’s rear. Metal screamed. The front passenger, 22, died from a head wound. Another passenger, 21, broke his arm. The car was wrecked. Speed and ignored signals led to blood and silence.
A sedan traveling north on Morgan Avenue near Division Place in Brooklyn struck the rear of a dump truck. According to the police report, the sedan was moving at unsafe speed and disregarded traffic control. The front passenger, age 22, suffered a fatal head injury and died at the scene. Another passenger, age 21, sustained a fractured arm. The sedan was demolished. The police report lists 'Unsafe Speed' and 'Traffic Control Disregarded' as contributing factors. The front passenger’s airbag deployed during the crash. No driver or passenger actions beyond these errors are cited in the report.
A sedan tore down Morgan Avenue. It smashed into a dump truck’s rear. Metal screamed. The front passenger, 22, died from a head wound. Another passenger, 21, broke his arm. The car was wrecked. Speed and ignored signals led to blood and silence.
A sedan traveling north on Morgan Avenue near Division Place in Brooklyn struck the rear of a dump truck. According to the police report, the sedan was moving at unsafe speed and disregarded traffic control. The front passenger, age 22, suffered a fatal head injury and died at the scene. Another passenger, age 21, sustained a fractured arm. The sedan was demolished. The police report lists 'Unsafe Speed' and 'Traffic Control Disregarded' as contributing factors. The front passenger’s airbag deployed during the crash. No driver or passenger actions beyond these errors are cited in the report.