Cambria Heights: hurt at dawn, hit at dusk

Cambria Heights: Jan 1, 2022 - Aug 25, 2025

Cambria Heights keeps the score in blood. Since 2022, there have been 849 crashes, with 547 injured and 2 people killed in this small area, led by cars and SUVs hitting people on foot most often. Nights are rough; injuries spike after dark. The worst hours run from midnight through the early morning, with steady harm again at rush and evening. The numbers come from the city’s own ledger.

Two deaths, many wounds

A 54‑year‑old driver died on the Cross Island Parkway on Feb. 29, 2024; police logged “Aggressive Driving/Road Rage” as a factor in the fatal record (CrashID 4706349). A 39‑year‑old on an “other motorized” vehicle died at 116th Ave and Nashville Blvd on June 26, 2025 (CrashID 4823380). The city lists “Driver Inattention/Distraction.”

Pedestrians are hit again and again — 48 injured here since 2022 — most by sedans and SUVs. A 10‑year‑old on a bike was hurt at 229th St near 116th Ave last summer (CrashID 4738477). The log says head injury. The log also blames “error/confusion.” The child lived.

Where the road bites

The Cross Island Parkway is the top hot spot in this neighborhood, with 160 injuries and one death tied to it. Linden Boulevard racks up dozens of injuries. At 116th Ave, a man on an “other motorized” device died. These are not outliers. They are the pattern.

Harm clusters at night. From midnight to 5 a.m., injuries pile up — 28 at midnight, 10 at 1 a.m., 17 at 2 a.m., 8 at 3 a.m., 12 at 4 a.m., 12 at 5 a.m. The danger returns after work, with 42 injuries at 6 p.m. The city’s data lists inattention and failure to yield again and again among the top factors.

Hit, run, and gone

On Aug. 13, a driver hit a 52‑year‑old man crossing 155th Street at South Conduit Avenue near JFK and fled. “The operator of the vehicle fled the scene after hitting the man,” police said. He died at Jamaica Hospital. “The driver sped off without stopping,” another report said. No arrests.

The same day, a speeding car slammed into people ordering at a Queens food truck. “Two pedestrians were hit and killed … Witnesses say a speeding car slammed into the men,” CBS reported. The driver also died.

Power and duty

Repeat dangerous driving is not rare; the state Senate moved a bill to force speed limiters on cars tied to repeat violations. Senator Leroy Comrie voted yes in committee on S4045. The bill would require intelligent speed assistance for drivers who meet thresholds for points or camera tickets; it aims to cut the worst repeat harm. The Legislature also voted to keep school‑zone speed cameras running through 2030. Comrie and Assembly Member Clyde Vanel both voted yes in their chambers on S8344.

City Hall now has the power to drop speeds on local streets. Albany passed Sammy’s Law, and the city can set safer limits. The choice is theirs. The cost of delay is on our blocks.

What fixes here, now

This neighborhood bleeds at night. Start where the bodies fall.

• Daylight corners and harden turns on Springfield Blvd, Linden Blvd, and at 116th Ave. Cut blind angles. Slow turning cars.
• Add leading pedestrian intervals at signals. Give people a head start across.
• Target nighttime speeding on Cross Island Parkway service roads and Linden. Use focused enforcement where the data is worst.

Then do the things that end the pattern citywide. Lower the default speed. Rein in the repeat speeders. If you want that done faster, push them.

“Liberated,” then eight years

The wreckage we accept is not only local. In Queens, a man drove the wrong way on the Clearview and smashed into five cars. “Joseph Lee terrorized other drivers as he purposefully drove the wrong way,” said Queens DA Melinda Katz. A jury convicted him. A judge gave him eight years. Lee told police he entered the expressway “in the wrong direction because I wanted to hurt people and I felt ‘liberated’ by what I had done,” according to the report.

The count does not stop

• In the last 12 months here: 286 crashes, 209 injured, 1 killed.
• This year to date: 198 crashes, 136 injured, 1 killed.
• Pedestrians hit most by sedans and SUVs.
• Nighttime is the danger window.

Names become numbers on the ledger. The pattern holds until someone breaks it.