Another car wiped out on bridge ramp 1
A taxi crashed into scaffolding exiting the Queensboro Bridge on Tuesday. Last year two separate crashes in the same location resulted in fatalities.
Another car wiped out on bridge ramp 2
The scaffolding was repaired where the taxi crashed on Tuesday.
Posted: Thursday, May 3, 2012 11:00 am
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Updated: 10:53 am, Thu May 3, 2012.
Queens Chronicle
Another vehicle crashed exiting the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge into Long Island City on Tuesday.
Two fatal car accidents, and the third non-fatal one, occurred on the same 59th Street ramp, which requires drivers to make a quick right turn followed by a sharp left turn, within weeks of each other about a year ago. The crashes prompted the installation of concrete barriers and better signage.
“Obviously what the DOT has done so far is not enough. We asked them to make some more comprehensive changes to that exit ramp and unfortunately they have not,” said state Sen. Mike Gianaris (D-Astoria).
Since the fatal accident, the two businesses that were the landing pad for those crashes have sued the city, the Department of Transportation and the drivers for compensation for the damages. The businesses are no longer in operation.
On Tuesday at 4:53 p.m. a taxi exiting the bridge smashed into scaffolding in front of a row of shops on Crescent Street. The driver refused medical attention.
The shops were not damaged.
“Not nearly as bad as the other crashes and we are appreciative of that, but we should not have to wait for something that horrific to happen again,” Gianaris said.
The DOT did not return phone calls inquiring about the crash.
An observer from the locksmith shop next door said firemen extracted the car from the scaffolding.
The blue metal poles appeared not to have sustained any major damage. The base of one pole was reinforced.
In the summer and spring of 2011 three Volkswagens speeding on the same ramp, on different days, crashed in almost the same place.
The first crash in March 2011 resulted in the death of a pedestrian, and the second, just nine days later, resulted in the death of a passenger.
Alexander Palacio, 39, the driver in the second crash — which occurred on April 6 — sued the city for negligence, according to published reports, alleging that the exit ramp was made more dangerous by alterations the city made previously. Palacio’s arm was amputated as a result of the crash and the passenger in the car, Beatriz Rodriguez, 40, died.
In addition to Palacio’s lawsuit, Espinal Caribbean Restaurant II’s owner, Tony Espinal, and Villa De Beaute hair-salon’s owner, Akber Jiwani, filed a $1 million lawsuit in late April.
“They were starting to see the fruit of their labor and now they are back to square one, or even before square one. Espinal was on the verge of opening the second restaurant and again that was taken away from him,” said Scott Agulnick, the lawyer representing both restaurants.
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Thursday, May 3, 2012 11:00 am.
Updated: 10:53 am.
