The Weekly Carnage is a Friday round-up of motor vehicle mayhem across the metro region. For more on the origins and purpose of this column, please read About the Weekly Carnage.

Damon Padmore, driving this SUV, hit and killed 38-year-old Dorothea Wallace as she made her way to work in Downtown Brooklyn. Padmore, a corrections officer at Sing Sing, was arrested for driving with a suspended license, but was not charged for killing Wallace. Photo: 1010 WINS

• Bronx: NYPD Detective Hits, Kills 67-Year-Old; Charged With DWI, Homicide (News 1, 2, Post 1, 2)
• Related: Commissioner Kelly Forms Panel to Speed DWI Evidence Collection (Streetsblog)
• Brooklyn: Unlicensed Prison Guard Strikes Woman, Not Charged for Death (News, Post, NY1)
• Manhattan: 22-Year-Old Student Run Over By MTA Bus in Hell's Kitchen; No Charges (Streetsblog)
  
• Bronx: Halloween Vandalism "Prank" Ends With Man Fatally Struck by City Bus (AMNY, News)
• Staten Island: Woman Killed in SIE Crash; Boyfriend Charged With DWI, Homicide (News, Advance)
• Harrison, NY: Livery Driver Killed, Passerby Injured Changing Tire on I-95 (LoHud)
  
• Seaford, LI: Man Killed Crossing Road After Crash (Newsday)
• Nutley, NJ: Driver Speeds Through Popular Trick-or-Treat Zone, Kills Kid; No Charges (S-L 1, 2, 3)
• South Brunswick, NJ: Elderly Florida Couple Killed in Wrong-Way Jersey Tpk. Collision (S-L)
  

No charges were filed against the Parks Dept. employee who seriously injured former Off-Broadway actress Shami Chaikin as she rode her motorized wheelchair in the Eighth Avenue bike lane. Photo: New York Post

• Gothamist Newsmap: 3 Unidentified Pedestrians Struck Since Saturday (Gothamist 1, 2)
  
• Manhattan: Woman in Wheelchair Hit by Parks Employee in 8th Ave. Bike Lane (Sblog, Post, News)
  
• Manhattan: Cabs Crash Into Scaffolding in East Village; 6 Injured (Gothamist)
  
• Manhattan: Al Sharpton's Daughter, Ex-Wife Charged With Resisting Arrest After Traffic Stop (Post)
• Queens: Driver on PCP Arrested En Route to Pick Up Daughter at School (News)
  
• Post Blotter Notes DWI, Road Rage Crashes on Staten Island
• Staten Island: Suspected Gang Member on PCP Crashes After Police Stop (Advance)
  
• Staten Island: Rider Snaps Photos of Texting Express Bus Driver (Advance)
• Staten Island: SUV Driver Mounts Car in Parking Lot; No Injuries Reported (Advance)
  
• Eastchester, NY: Driving Home From Game 6, Joe Girardi Renders Aid at Crash Site (LoHud)
  
• Smithtown, LI: Motorcyclist Charged With DWI After Passenger Falls Off, Hit by Driver (AP)
• Tractor-Trailer Collides With SUV, Closes LIE for 12 Hours; 1 Injured (Newsday)
• Stamford, CT: 12-Year-Old Struck, Critical; No Charges Expected (CT Post)
  
• Jersey City: 6 Passengers Injured in NJ Transit Bus Crash (Jersey Jrnl)
  
• Jersey City: Man Arrested for DWI After Halloween Crash Into Cemetery (Jersey Jrnl)
• Branchburg, NJ: Woman Hit, Seriously Hurt Trying to Help Injured Deer (Reporter)
  
• Clifton, NJ: Driver Misses Curve, Sails Into House (Record); Witty S-L Reader Commentary Ensues
• Linden, NJ: 69-Year-Old Gas Station Attendant Attacked by Deadbeat Motorist (NJLN)
  
• Edison, NJ: Road Worker's Leg Crushed by Steamroller (S-L)

Following Up

• Brooklyn: Officer Andrew Kelly Pleads Not Guilty for Vionique Valnord Death (News, Post, City Room)
• Queens: Man Gets 34-to-Life for Trying to Run Down Cops With Stolen MTA SUV (Qns Trib, YourNabe)
• Staten Island: Thousands Pay Tribute to 16-Year-Old Killed in One-Car Wreck (Post)
• Nassau Co.: Man Gets 5-10 Years for DWI Crash That Maimed Queens Cop (News)
  
• White Plains: Woman Sentenced to 1-3 Years for Killing Friend in DWI Crash (AP)
  

Photo: Nevada Appeal

• Los Angeles: Road Rage Doc Thompson Convicted for 2008 Assault on 2 Cyclists (Streetsblog)
• Related: Civil Suit Filed by Victim Ron Peterson (AP)
  
• Herkimer, NY: Man Struck, Killed While Trick-or-Treating With 8-Year-Old Son (AP)
• Forestport, NY: Road Worker Holding Stop Sign Killed; No Immediate Charges (AP)
  
• Galen, NY: Man Tries to Torch Car With Wife Inside (AP)
• Carson City, NV: 3-Year-Old in Stroller Hit During Family Halloween Outing (Appeal)
  
• Portland, OR: Man Guilty in Hit-and-Run of Pedicab Driven by Large Orange Rabbit (AP)
• Dickinson, ND: 3 Missing College Softball Players Found in Submerged SUV (AP)
  
• Berlin: Soldier Drives Car Into Fellow Troops, Injuring 13 (AP)
• Sacramento Kings' Andres Nocioni Arrested on Suspicion of DUI (NBA.com)
  
• Tokyo: Brad Pitt Shops for New Motorcycle After LA Crash (AP)
  
• Morgan Freeman Settles Civil Suit Stemming From 2008 Rollover (BBC)
  

Trends and Other News

• Brooklyn: Student Speeders Terrorize Manhattan Beach (Post)
• Staten Island: Following Death, Great Kills Residents Want Relief From Cut-Through Drivers (Advance)
  
• NY State's Watered-Down Texting Ban Now in Effect (NY1)
• Cellphone Maker Garmin Pushes DWD as Product Selling Point (Streetsblog)
• Text-Crash Teen: Every Kid I Know Texts While Driving (News)
  
• Britain Gets Tougher on DWD, But Even Victims Still Sympathize With Killer Drivers (NYT)
  
• Deadly Toyota Acceleration Defect "Goes Beyond Floor Mats" (Consumerist, Wheels)
• Consumer Group Says Power Windows Dangerous to Kids; NHTSA: Meh (Wheels)
• Many Drivers Apparently Don't Expect Pedestrians in Parking Lots, Either (WaPo)
  

* Since the week of June 8
** Drivers charged for deaths since the week of June 8, based on latest available reports

Seth Kahn, pictured here with late TV pitchman Billy Mays. Photo via Facebook

Inevitably, some media reports portray Kahn, who was in the crosswalk, as trying to beat the light, while making less of the fact that the bus driver, turning left from 53rd, must have also rushed into the intersection. The driver was not charged.

Despite the constant presence of pedestrians, Ninth Avenue is a notoriously dangerous place for people to walk. The quotes have been removed from the story now, but a local resident told NY1 (via Gothamist): "That particular corner always has some accidents. All the cars travel very fast and there's too many buses using 53rd Street and they don't even look for pedestrians."

Kahn was the fourth known pedestrian to die in the city in less than a week. On Tuesday a corrections officer with a suspended license hit Dorothea Wallace of Prospect Heights as she walked to work. Luis Rivera of the Bronx was struck and killed by a city bus driver on Halloween after he reportedly threw something at the bus' windshield. And last Friday, off-duty NYPD detective Kevin Spellman ran down 67-year-old Drana Nikac as she crossed a street in Kingsbridge.

A Parks Department sanitation truck struck a 78-year-old woman using a motor-assisted wheelchair in the Eighth Avenue bike lane this morning shortly before 10 a.m., just north of Bleecker Street. The victim suffered head trauma and was taken to St. Vincent's Hospital, where she is in serious condition, a police spokesman said. No further details on the collision are available at this time. NYPD said the investigation is ongoing.

The driver was heard repeating that he "didn't see" the victim, according to Michelle Ernst of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, who passed the scene of the crash this morning and sent in this picture.

Streetsblog has requests in with DOT and the Parks Department to determine if a policy is in place governing the use of protected bike paths by city vehicles. We'll post more information as it becomes available.

Image: WABC

Kevin Spellman, a 22-year department veteran, was taken into custody after the deadly 6:30 a.m. accident at W. 232nd St. and Kingsbridge Ave., police said.

Spellman, 42, was driving south when his 2009 Chevrolet Impala slammed into the unidentified woman. She was pronounced dead at St. Barnabas Hospital.

Like Andrew Kelly, the officer who killed Brooklyn pedestrian Vionique Valnord four weeks ago, Spellman reportedly refused a Breathalyzer test. The News says Spellman "was not immediately charged," though NY1 says he was "taken into custody for DWI." WABC says there may have been two victims.

The Weekly Carnage is a Friday round-up of motor vehicle mayhem across the metro region. For more on the origins and purpose of this column, please read About the Weekly Carnage.

Photo: Daily News

• Queens: Crack-Smoking Driver Charged With Manslaughter for Killing 2 Kids (News 1, 2, Post, NY1)
• Staten Island: Unlicensed 16-Year-Old Kills Self, Injures Friend in One-Car Crash (Advance 1, 2, 3)
• Spotswood, NJ: 1 Killed, 2 Hurt in Three-Car Collision (S-L)
• Barnegat, NJ: Collision Between Two SUVs Kills 1, Injures 4 (S-L)
  

Photo: Daily News

• Gothamist Newsmap: 5 Pedestrians Struck Since Sunday (Gothamist 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
  
• Brooklyn: Two Fire Trucks Collide, Injuring 12 (NYT, News)
  
• Brooklyn: Major Crash Reported Near Cadman Plaza (Gothamist, Advance)
• Serious Staten Island Collision Injures 2 (Advance)
• Yorktown, NY: 73-Year-Old Charged With DWI, Leaving Scene After Head-On Crash (LoHud)
  
• Southampton, LI: Wrong-Way Driver Rams Three Police Cars, Four Others (Newsday)
• Melville, LI: Ladders Fall Off Truck, Shut LIE for 90 Minutes; 4 Injured; Driver Has No Idea (Newsday)
• Melville, LI: 3 Injured in SUV Collision (Newsday)
• Holbrook, LI: 2 Drivers, 1 Child Injured in Two-Car Crash (Newsday)
  
• Yaphank, LI: School Bus Rear-Ended; No Injuries Reported (Newsday)
  
• Jersey City: Homeless Man Hit, Hospitalized (Jersey Jrnl)
• Secaucus, NJ: DWI Man Arrested When 12-Year-Old Passenger Calls Cops (S-L)
  
• Bayonne, NJ: Man Hits Parked Car, Charged With DWI (Jersey Jrnl)
• Hamilton, NJ: Turnpike Crash Injures 2 (Times)
  
• Mount Olive, NJ: Driver Arrested for DWI After Crashing Truck Into Tree (Warren Rep)
• Danbury, CT: 6 Hurt in Three-Car Wreck (CT Post) 
  
• Bridgeport, CT: Five Cops Under Investigation Following Crash (CT Post)
  

Following Up

• Manhattan: No Charges Filed in Deadly East Village Collision (Post)
• Manhattan: Carmen Huertas Arraigned in Fatal Hudson Parkway Crash (City Room, Post)
  
• Manhattan: Ex-Cop, Reporter Gets Slap on the Wrist for DWI Wreck (Gothamist)
• Manhattan Times Details Last Week's Washington Heights Motorcyclist Fatality
  
• Queens: Cyclist Victim's Mom Continues Quest for Bike Lane on Queens Boulevard (News)
• Staten Island: "Rule of Two" at Play in Arraignment for Fatal Collision (Advance)
  
• Bronx: Bereaved Family Sues Over Hearse Explosion; Post Finds the Funny
• Yorktown: Man Pleads to Menacing in 2008 Fatal Crash (LoHud)
  
• Freeport, LI: Man Gets Up to 15 Years for 2008 Fatal DWI Crash (Newsday)
• Mineola, LI: Repeat DWI Offender Sentenced to 7-21 Years for Killing Student (AP)
  
• Schuler Taconic Crash, Other "DWI Mom" Stories Profiled on "Oprah" (Newsday)
• Orange, CT: Police Audio Released From Cop-Involved Crash That Killed 2 (CT Post)
  

Photo: CNN

• Sparks, NV: Couple Awakes to Find Themselves Pinned Under Car (CNN)
• Martinez, CA: Pedestrian Ripped Apart on Interstate After Hit-and-Run (KPIX)
  
• Boise, ID: Mentally Ill Man Plows Truck Into Motorcycle Cops (AP)
• Hill 'N Dale, FL: Ped Fatally Struck By Three Drivers; One Flees Scene (Times)
• Reed City, MI: 20-Month-Old Run Down, Killed in Driveway (Cadillac News)
  
• Philadelphia: Cab Driver Convicted in Hit-and-Run Killing of 5-Year-Old Pedestrian (Philly Inq)
• Providence, RI: Man Hits 3 Peds, Drives a Mile With One Clinging to Windshield (AP)
• Canterbury, Australia: Ped Bridge Elevator Fails, Elderly Man Killed Trying to Cross (SMH)
• London: Cop Gets 6.5 Years for Killing Woman During 107 MPH "Joyride" (Times)
  
• Dallas, TX: Bus Crash That Killed 17 Called "Perfect Storm of Gross Negligence" (AP)

Photo: NYT

• Halloween Especially Scary for Pedestrians (USA Today, Consumer Reps, Times, Missourian, Reuters)
  
• Cy Vance Kicks Off Instructive, Sobering Vehicular Crime Legal Forum (Streetsblog)
  
• Child Deaths Prompt News Call for Tougher Drunk Driving Laws
• NYPD Makes 24-Hour "Extra Effort" to Ticket Cellphone-Using Drivers (City Room)
• Sustained DWI Crackdown in Brooklyn's 84th Precinct Sees Drop in Other Crimes (Post)
  
• Freakonomics: Cab Driver Attrition, Poor Working Conditions Lead to Reckless Driving
• New York Motorists Don't Give a Damn About Your Kid (WTEN)
• Florida Dominates "Worst Places to Walk" List (Orlando Sentinel)
  
• Las Vegas Ped Fatalities Down Amid Crosswalk Stings (KVBC)
• New, Weaker Distracted Driving Bill Surfaces in U.S. Senate (Streetsblog Cap Hill)
• Car-Mounted Cameras Could Help Inattentive Drivers Avoid Hitting People (AP)
• "Crash-Proof" Cars: Good or Bad? (Streetsblog)
  
• Ohio Bike Blogger Kevin Kimmich: When in Doubt, Shout (Monster Pull)
• Children Made to Salute Cars in Huangping, China; Is It All That Different From This? (NYT) 

* Since the week of June 8
** Drivers charged for deaths since the week of June 8, based on latest available reports

The Weekly Carnage is a Friday round-up of motor vehicle mayhem across the metro region. For more on the origins and purpose of this column, please read About the Weekly Carnage.

Photo: Newsday

• Staten Island: Man Crushed to Death By His Own SUV (News, Advance)
• Manhattan: East Village Collision Leaves One Dead (Streetsblog)
• Manhattan, Queens: 3 Motorcyclists Dead in Separate Crashes (AP) 
• Queens: Unidentified Pedestrian Killed in Corona (Gothamist)
  
• Shirley, LI: Drunk Hit-and-Run Driver Kills Pedestrian; Not Charged for Death (Newsday 1, 2)
• Yaphank, LI: Hit-and-Run Driver Kills Ped; Tells Cops He Thought Man Was a Deer (Newsday)
  
• Yaphank, LI: 1 Killed in Collision Involving Family of 911 Dispatcher (Newsday 1, 2)
• Deer Park, LI: Elderly Man Dies After Crash Possibly Precipitated by Health Emergency (Newsday)
• Ronkokoma, LI: Man Dies in Collision With Tractor-Trailer (Newsday)
• Danbury, CT: Teen Killed, 3 Injured in One-Vehicle Crash (CT Post)
• Bethany, CT: 3 Killed When Car Hits Tree (CT Post)
  
• New Brunswick, NJ: 15-Year-Old Pedestrian Struck; No Charges (S-L)
  
• Millburn, NJ: 19-Year-Old Dead in Single-Car Crash (S-L, The Local 1, 2)
  
• Branchburg, NJ: Man Slits Own Throat, Flips Car After Police Stop (Somerset Rep)***

Photo: The Uptowner

• Manhattan: NYPD Van Strikes Pedestrian; Post Blames Anarchic "Pedestrian Culture"
• Manhattan: TEA Altercation Ends in Driver Arrest, Accusation of Agent Assault (Gothamist)
  
• Manhattan: Dirt Bike Riders Tear Through Harlem; Cops at a Loss (Uptowner)
• Bronx: NYPD Officer Accused of Hitting Pregnant Woman's Car, Leaving Scene (Gothamist)
  
• Staten Island: Officer Injured When Hit-and-Run Driver Strikes NYPD Cruiser (Advance)
• Eastchester: Woman Hits 15-Year-Old Girl, Leaves Her in Street (LoHud)
  
• Southhold, NY: Man Picking Up His DWI Girlfriend at Police Station Arrested for DWI (LoHud)
• Southampton, LI: Passenger Arrested for Traffic Stop Tirade (Newsday)
• Melville, LI: Multiple-Car Crash Paralyzes LIE (Newsday)
• Greenwich, CT: Man Hits Pedestrian, Charged With DWI (CT Post)
  
• Rahway, NJ: Child Hit, Hospitalized With Head Injuries (NJLN)
  
• Cranford, NJ: Unlicensed Driver Nailed for Warrants During Crosswalk Sting (Chron)
  
• Paterson, NJ: Fire Truck, Car Collision Injures 2 (S-L)
  

Following Up

• Manhattan: NYPD Sgt. Indicted for Critically Injuring UES Pedestrian in June (NYT, Post)
• Manhattan: Accused DWI Mom Carmen Huertas Indicted for Fatal Crash (AP, Post)
• Brooklyn: Al Sharpton Keeping an Eye on Andrew Kelly Case (Gothamist)
  
• Staten Island: Driver Killed in Backhoe Collision Identified (Advance)
  
• Daily News: People Who Block Parking Spots Deserve to Die (Streetsblog) 
• Hiram Monserrate: I'm No Worse Than John Sabini (News)
  
• "Law & Order" to Dramatize Taconic Wrong-Way Crash; Families Object (Post, Post)
• Nassau Co.: Guardrail Will Be Installed After Fatal Wantagh Bike Path Crash (Newsday)
  
• Bayonne, NJ: School Bus Driver Ticketed for Critically Injuring Pedestrian (Jersey Jrnl)
• Summit, NJ: Driver Found at Fault for Ped Death; No Criminal Charges (Indy Press)
  
• Elizabeth, NJ: Man Pleads Guilty in Crash That Injured Officer; Could Get 30 Years (S-L)

Photo: Jalopnik

• Milo, NY: Worker Killed When Truck Driver Crashes Into Boathouse (AP)
  
• Flagstaff, AZ: Hit-and-Run Road Rager Intentionally Runs Down Pedestrian (Daily Sun)
• Skippack, PA: Pedestrian Hit, Hospitalized, Ticketed for Jaywalking (Reporter)
• Baltimore, MD: Man Hit and Killed; Police Cite "Pedestrian Error" (Sun)
• Portland, OR: Driver Said to Be Chasing Skater Flips SUV in Park (Jalopnik)
• Caldwell, ID: Woman Crushed to Death By Garage Door at Paramedics Station (AP)
  
• Santa Ana, CA: 75-Year-Old Gets 9 Months for Killing 89-Year-Old Ped in Grisly Parking Lot Crash (AP)
• Los Angeles: Trial of "Dr. Road Rage" Underway (Streetsblog LA)
  
• Los Angeles: "Sarah Connor Chronicles" Actor Thomas Dekker Hits Cyclist, Charged With DUI (S-L)
• Cleveland: Browns CB Eric Wright Uninjured After Flipping Car (AP)
  

Trends and Other News

• TA, TSTC to Host Vehicular Homicide Symposium, Featuring Cy Vance (Streetsblog 1, 2)
  
• Daily News: Distracted Cab Drivers Are Only a Problem for Their Passengers (Streetsblog)
• Brooklyn CB 10 Wants DOT Study of Crash-Plagued Bay Ridge Intersection (Post)
• Will No-Nonsense Nassau DA Kathleen Rice Run for Attorney General? (Daily Politics)
• Jon Stewart Rips CNN for Driver-Distracting Cellphone App (Zimbio)
  
• Cellphone Users Too Dazed to Notice Clown Riding Unicycle (Well)
  
• Hummer Drivers Get Five Times as Many Tickets as Nat'l Average (Consumer Reports)
• Ford Recalls 4.5M Vehicles Due to Fire Risk; Crown Vics Not on the List (Consumerist)
• Westfield, NJ, Mayoral Candidates Campaign on Safer Streets (S-L)
• Boston Globe Continues Anti-"Jaywalking" Media Blitz 
  
• San Francisco Embarks on New Ped Safety Initiative (Streetsblog SF)
  
• Deaf and Blind Pedestrians Get Attention From Minnesota Transpo Officials (Star Trib)
• In Columbia, MO, It Will Soon Be Illegal to Throw Things at People in Wheelchairs (KBIA)
  
• Instead of Criminalizing Walking, Cities Should Make It Safer (Car-Free in Big D)
  

* Since the week of June 8
** Drivers charged for deaths since the week of June 8, based on latest available reports
*** This incident is not reflected in the "Fatal Crashes" tally

A reader sent in this picture of the scene at First Avenue and 4th Street in Manhattan this morning. I won't speculate too much about what sheared the roof off this minivan or what happened to the people involved. Perhaps the car was pried open deliberately to rescue those inside. Details are scarce: An investigation is underway, according to the Gothamist newsmap, and we have a request in with NYPD for more information.

Update: A police spokesman tells Gothamist that a 55-year-old woman was killed after this minivan collided with a delivery van. No one else was injured, apparently, and no one has been charged. We've also received an unconfirmed report that this was a T-bone collision in which the minivan ran the light.

Ke Hai Du. Photo: Daily News

In the unofficial battle for the most irresponsible, over-the-top media endorsement of motorist entitlement, the Daily News took the trophy this morning, declaring that drivers are within their rights to run down human beings who stand between their vehicles and on-street parking.

To many people accustomed to the norms of civilized society, this would seem a clear case of assault, if not something more serious. But to the News it's a game, which the victim rightfully lost when he challenged the "finders keepers" rule -- or, as News editors put it, "a basic and inviolable tenet of the universe."

What Du did is right up there with stealing a taxi from the person who hailed it, or bringing 15 items to the "10 items or less" register, or stopping at the top of a subway stairway to read e-mail, or backing up in an E-ZPass lane.

The lesson is clear: Park your carcass in a parking space, and you may end up as road kill.

The Weekly Carnage is a Friday round-up of motor vehicle mayhem across the metro region. For more on the origins and purpose of this column, please read About the Weekly Carnage.

Photo: Daily News

• Manhattan: 11-Year-Old Dies When Drunk Mom Flips Car on Henry Hudson (News 1, 2, NYT 1, 2)
• Related: Driver Carmen Huertas on Suicide Watch; Vic's Father Says Death Is Too Good (News)
  
• Brooklyn: Drunk Driver Blows Red Light, Kills Chernobyl Survivor; Charged With Homicide (News, NYT)
• Staten Island: Motorist Dies After Slamming Into Parked Backhoe (Advance)
  
• Bethpage, LI: 1 Dead, 1 Hurt in Two-Car Crash; Police Look for Third Driver (Newsday)
• Danbury, CT: Passenger Killed in DWI Crash; More Charges Expected for Driver (CT Post)
  
• Raritan, NJ: Pedestrian Hit Attempting to Cross Suburban "Highway" (Hunterdon CD)
  
• Fairfield, NJ: Pedestrian Hit by Truck Driver (NJLN)
• Washington, NJ: Woman Killed After Driving Into Tree (NJLN)
• Kingwood, NJ: Motorcyclist Riding With Friends Hits Guardrail (Hunterdon CD)

Photo: Daily News

• Gothamist Newsmap: 8 Peds Struck in Last 7 Days, Including TEA (Gothamist 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
  
• Brooklyn: Mom Loses Control of Car While Parking, Plunges Into Sheepshead Bay (News, Advance) 
  
• Manhattan: Pedestrian Pinned Under Bus Prompts Post Lecture on "Jaywalking"
  
• Manhattan: Driver Rolls Car on Inwood Street (Jewyorican)
  
• Brooklyn: Bus Hits 6 Cars, Injuring 12; Driver Cites Stuck Accelerator (News)
  
• Staten Island: SIE Crash Injures 1, Inconveniences Others (Advance)
• Spring Valley, NY: Woman Hit, Seriously Hurt by Driver in Supermarket Parking Lot (LoHud)
  
• Mount Pleasant, NY: Man Stopped for Doing 120 on Taconic Parkway (AP)
• Hempstead, LI: Drunk Hit-and-Run Suspect Caught Changing Flat Tire (Newsday)
  
• Hempstead, LI: Driver in DWI Bust Wanted for Murder in California (AP)
  
• 10 DWI Arrests in Westchester, Putnam Counties Last Weekend (LoHud)
  
• Greenport, LI: Cyclist Hit by Stop-Sign-Running Driver Airlifted to Hospital (Newsday)
  
• Middle Island, LI: Drunk Driver Plows Into Outdoor Bar Patio, Seriously Injuring 2 (Newsday)
• Suffolk Co.: Recidivist on Probation for Fatal Crash Caught Driving Without License (Newsday)
• Nesconset, LI: Crash Leaves 2 Vehicles Overturned, Injures 3 (Newsday)
  
• Newark: Suspects Fleeing Police Hit Second Cruiser (S-L)
  
• Jersey City: Car-School Bus Collision Puts 10 in Hospital (Jersey Jrnl)
• Elizabeth, NJ: Unlicensed Minivan Driver Hits Baby Stroller, Slams Into Store (S-L)
  
• New Milford, CT: Road Worker Hit, Injured; Driver Flees Scene (CT Post)
  

Following Up

• Officer Andrew Kelly Indicted for Manslaughter in DWI Killing (City Room, Post)
• Axel Pablo's Killer Loses Hack License; TLC Pledges Cell Phone Crackdown (News, Post)
• Sentencing of Auvryn Scarlett Delayed (Teletext)
• News Files Late Report on Death of Queens Pedestrian Angela Ambrose
  
• Sole Taconic Wrong-Way Crash Survivor on the Mend (Post)
• Cortlandt, NY: Man Charged With Manslaughter for Fatal September DWI Crash (LoHud)
  

Out of Town

• Ballston Spa, NY: Former Rep. John Sweeney Loses License for Refusing Sobriety Test (AP)
• Pomfret, NY: Rental Truck Driver Tries to Skirt Train Crossing Gate; 3 Dead (AP)
  
• Port St. Lucie, FL: Queens Woman Nabbed in 110-MPH Chase With Daughter in Van (News)
• Tampa, FL: Mother, 2 Kids Hit Crossing Street (AP)
  
• San Francisco: Cyclist Snaps, Posts Photo of Hit-and-Run Driver Plate (jwz)
• Redwood City, CA: Dump Truck Driver Kills Cyclist; Claims No Knowledge of Crash (Sblog SF)
• Springdale, AR: 22-Month-Old Killed by 12-Year-Old Brother Attempting to Move Minivan (AP)
  
• Bismarck, ND: Truck Carrying ICBM Parts Crashes When Driver Distracted by Bug (AP)
  
• Washington, DC: Emerging U.S. Soccer Star Charlie Davies Injured in Fatal Crash (News)
  
• Pittsburgh, PA: Russell Crowe, Elizabeth Banks Uninjured in Film Shoot Collision (Entertainment Daily)
  

Trends

• New York, San Francisco Columnists Wage Anti-Pedestrian Offensive (Streetsblog NYC, SF)
• For Some Idea of What Walking Is Like, "New York" Post Editors Should Watch This Streetfilm
  
• Assembly Member Wants to Calm Broadway-Amsterdam "Bowtie" (Gothamist)
• Gov. Paterson Lobbied for Street Safety Improvements (LIBN)
• Paterson Seeks Penalties for Truckers Who Drive Where They Shouldn't (AP)
  
• New Jersey Ped Fatalities Up 33 Percent; Advos Petition Corzine for Complete Streets (S-L, APP)
• NJ State Troopers Will Target Tailgaters -- for Two Weeks (AP)
• Why Is Traffic Enforcement Often Limited to "Special Occasions"? (Tulsa Examiner)
• Study: Vigorous Ticketing Has Reduced Distracted Driving in D.C. (WaPo)

* Since the week of June 8
** Drivers charged for deaths since the week of June 8, based on latest available reports

• Manhattan: Elderly Harlem Man Hit by NYPD Cruiser (Post, News, NY1)
• Queens: Teen Pedestrians Struck by SUV Driver; 1 Dead, 1 Critical; "No Criminality Suspected" (AP)
  
• Queens: Livery Driver Crushed Changing Flat Tire (News) 
• Kent, NY: Motorcyclists Hit Pick-up; 1 Dead (LoHud)
• Greenwich, CT: Motorcyclist Killed in Car Collision (CT Post)
  
• Livingston, NJ: Mother, Daughter Struck in Crosswalk; 1 Dead (Star-Ledger, The Local)
• Summit, NJ: Woman Walking Dog Hit by Livery Driver (Indy Press)
• Elizabeth, NJ: Teen Pedestrian Struck (Star-Ledger)
  
• Parsippany, NJ: New York Post Employee Rear-Ends Tractor-Trailer, Killed (NJLN)
• Wall, NJ: Man Killed in Collision With Unlicensed Hit-and Run Driver (Star-Ledger)
• Hopewell, NJ: Driver Killed in One-Car Crash (Times)
  

Injuries, Arrests and Property Damage

• Queens: 17-Year-Old Plows Into Bus Stop, Injures 6, Instantly Pardoned by NYPD (Streetsblog)
• Manhattan: Yellow Cabbie, Pedicabbie in Midtown Street Brawl (Streetsblog)
  
• Brooklyn: Serious Two-Car Collision at Grand Army Plaza (B'stoner)
• Staten Island: Unlicensed Drunk Driver Crashes Into 3 Cars, Injuring 2 (Advance)
  
• Staten Island: Dead Deer Spotted on SIE (Advance)
• Yonkers: Corrections Officer Charged With DWI, Fired After Collision With Firefighter (LoHud)
  
• Yonkers: "Wandering" Truck Driver Hits Bronx River Parkway Overpass (LoHud)
  
• Scarsdale: Police Look for Driver in Cyclist Hit-and-Run (LoHud)
  
• Hoboken: Elderly Woman Hit by Delivery Van Driver (Jersey Jrnl)
• Holtsville, LI: Man Critical After Slamming Into Police Cruiser; Charged With DWI (Newsday)
  
• New Hyde Park, LI: Drunk Father Drives Onto Sidewalk of Son's School (Newsday)
• Stamford, CT: Man Arrested When 11-Year-Old Son Crashes Idling Car (CT Post)
• Danbury, CT: Passenger Seriously Injured in One-Car DWI Crash (CT Post)
  
• Jackson, NJ: Pick-up Driver Rear-Ends School Bus, Injuring 6 (Star-Ledger)
  
• Somerville, NJ: Hit-and-Run Leads to Drug Arrest (Somerset Reporter)
  

Following Up

• Brooklyn: Grand Jury Opens Investigation Into Cop Killing of Vionique Valnord (Bklyn Eagle, Post)
  
• Related: Family in Anguish; Media Obsesses Over Whether Andrew Kelly Gave CPR (Gothamist 1, 2)
• Related: Fellow Ped-Killing Cop Offers Advice, Empathy From Jail (Post)
• Queens: Friends Memorialize James Langergaard With Queens Blvd. Ghost Bike (News, Post)
• Staten Island: Man Pleads Guilty in NYPD Chase Crash That Killed Husband and Wife (Advance)
• Staten Island: City Settles With Owner of Car Damaged by Fire Truck (Advance)
• Schuler Taconic Crash Attorney Works the Media, Family Calls for Grand Jury (Post, Newsday)
• New Haven: 2 Sentenced for Leaving Companion to Die After Motorcycle Crash (CT Post)
  

Out of Town

• Green Valley, AZ: Motorist Takes Plea in Cyclist Death, Fined $254 (Tuscon Bike Lawyer)
• Cambridge, MA: Lawmaker With 2 DWI Convictions Flees Scene of Latest Crash (AP)
• Lanham, MD: Unlicensed Driver Getting Lesson From Unlicensed Driver Crashes Into Apartment (AP)
  
• Ephrata, WA: Woman Reaching for Phone Crashes, Killing 6-Year-Old Daughter (AP)
  
• Marin County, CA: Woman Accused of Using 13-Year-Old Son as Designated Driver (SF Chron)
• Talladega, AL: Fences to Be Heightened After NASCAR Crash Injures Fans (AP)
• Hereford, MS: Baltimore Sun Editor Killed in Collision With UPS Truck (AP) 
  
• Paramus, NJ: Hip-Hop Producer Charged After Fatal Parking Lot Hit-and-Run (AP)
  
• Beverly Hills, CA: Nicole Richie Injured in Collision With Unlicensed Paparazzi (Post)
  
• Los Angeles: Mel Gibson's Anti-Semitic DWI Episode Expunged (Post)

Photo: Staten Island Advance

• Pedestrians and Cyclists Now Make Up Nearly Two-Thirds of City Traffic Fatalities (MTR)
• Fearing for Kids' Lives, SI Residents Turn to Homemade Speed Bumps (Advance, NY1)
  
• Car Makers Use "Smart" Gas Pedals to Curb Unintended Acceleration (Wheels)
• Fleeing the Scene Pays for Drunken California Drivers (BikingInLA)
  
• Can Laws and Technology Save Us From TWD? (News, NYT)

* Since the week of June 8
** Drivers charged for deaths since the week of June 8, based on latest available reports

See any victims here? Neither does NYPD. Photo: Daily News

Despite the carnage and eyewitness accounts, none of which appear contradictory, NYPD told the Queens Courier the driver would face no charges:

According to police, the driver "had a clean license;" he was neither arrested nor issued any summons. “We weren’t there to witness an infraction,” the police source said.

This case again plainly exposes the hypocrisy in how city law enforcers handle cases involving drivers, pedestrians and cyclists, depending on the identity of the "victim."

Recall that Queens pedestrian Max Kim-Bee was criminally charged earlier this year after a driver who nearly ran him down said Kim-Bee somehow damaged his car. This arrest, which occurred several hours after the incident, was based solely on the driver's claims to police. Not only were no cops present, there were no corroborating witnesses.

So: Bloody bodies littering the ground yards away from a smashed automobile? Nothing NYPD can do. A pedestrian injured your car, you say? The cops are on the case.

Imagine all crimes were treated this way. "I'm sorry your son was murdered, ma'am, but since we didn't witness an infraction, there's really nothing to investigate." Or, "There were no police officers in the area when the crane fell, prosecutors said, and no charges are expected in light of the operator's clean record."

A grisly scene. Multiple innocent victims disfigured. Lives disrupted. Families terrorized. How on earth, Ray Kelly, does this not qualify as violent crime?

We linked to a story in this morning's headlines about yesterday's brawl between a yellow cab driver and a pedicab operator in midtown. A Fox 5 reporter on the scene covering the sex scandal du jour caught the whole thing on video. Via Gothamist, here it is.

It looks like the pedicab driver, tired of being honked at by the cabbie, throws his coffee at the taxi as the two exchange words. Not the most conciliatory course of action, to be sure, but the cab driver then raises the stakes considerably, accelerating and slamming into the pedicab. The pedicab operator hits the taxi with both fists, the cab driver exits the vehicle, and a street brawl ensues in the middle of the intersection of Broadway and 53rd.

The pedicab operator eventually throws a trash can at the cab driver, then pedals away. The cab driver sticks around to talk to police. You can't hear what they're saying, but at one point he appears to be pointing to damage to his cab. As with other drivers who've attacked cyclists and pedestrians with their vehicles recently, it's doubtful he 'fessed up to instigating the collision himself.

From a livable streets perspective, there's a lot to digest here. Consider this an open thread on incivility, street space hierarchy, vehicular violence, pedicabs and yellow cabs, or whatever strikes you about this pathetic episode.

The Weekly Carnage is a Friday round-up of motor vehicle mayhem across the metro region. For more on the origins and purpose of this column, please read About the Weekly Carnage.

Off-duty NYPD officer Andrew Kelly refused breath and blood tests after killing 33-year-old pedestrian Vionique Valnord.

• Brooklyn: Off-Duty Cop Kills Pedestrian, Charged With DWI, Manslaughter (NYT, Post, Post)
• Related: DWI Evidence Compromised; Cover-Up Suspected (News 1, 2, 3, Post, NYT)
• Related: Defense Says Andrew Kelly Saved Dead Woman's Life (Post, Post)
  
• Manhattan: Pedestrian Struck, Killed; Driver Charged With DWI, Manslaughter (Post, MT)
• Yonkers: Unlicensed Driver Crashes on Bronx River Pkwy., Killing Passenger (LoHud)
• Bay Shore, LI: 2 Pedestrians, Parents of 4-Month-Old, Hit and Killed; No Charges (Newsday 1, 2)
  
• Motorcyclist Collides With Truck, Hit by Car on LI's Southern State Parkway; Drivers Flee (Newsday)
• Coram, LI: Driver Dies in One-Car Crash (Newsday)
  
• Ocean Twp., NJ: Cyclist Struck Crossing Road; Investigation Ongoing (Star-Ledger)
  
• Woodbridge, NJ: Motorcyclist Flips Harley, Dies at Hospital (Star-Ledger)
• Summit, NJ: Driver Killed in One-Car Crash (Indy Press)
• Rahway, NJ: Teen Rams SUV Into Light Pole (Star-Ledger)

At least one was hurt in this Sept. 29 cab crash in the West Village, reports New York Daily Photo

• Brooklyn: 12-Year-Old Girl Critically Injured by Hit-and-Run Driver (Post, News, NY1)
  
• Related: Family Says Driver Ran Over Victim Second Time Fleeing Scene (Post)
• Brooklyn: Unlicensed Driver Leaves Woman Critical (News)
• Brooklyn: Pedestrian Hit by Drunk Driver Severely Injured; Multiple Charges Filed (News)
  
• Brooklyn: Express Bus, Car Collide; No Injuries Reported (Advance)
• Manhattan: Fuel Truck Hits Scaffolding; Hazmat Team Dispatched (Gothamist)
  
• Staten Island: Truck Blaze Destroys 9/11 Memorial Race Gear (Advance)
  
• Staten Island: Driver Flips Vehicle on Hylan Blvd.; 2 Injured (Advance)
• Midwood, LI: 10-Year-Old Hit by Driver, Critical But Stable; No Charges (Post)
  
• Cold Spring Harbor, LI: EMT, Cop Rescue Man from Submerged SUV (Newsday)
  
• Yonkers: Man Bitten Trying to Stop Woman From Fleeing Crash Site (LoHud)
  
• Piermont, NY: Man Plows Car Into House (LoHud)
• Pomona, NY: Two-Car Collision Injures 5, Both Drivers Critical (LoHud)
• Newtown, CT: Speeding Driver Flips Minivan, Injuring Self, 3 Kids (CT Post)
  
• Seymour, CT: Single-Vehicle Crash Ends With Car in River (CT Post)
• Jersey City: Pedestrian Seriously Injured in Hit-and-Run (Jersey Jrnl)
• Jersey City: Man Crashes Into School; Charged With DWI (Jersey Jrnl)
  
• Fairfield, NJ: Drunk Teen Drives SUV Into House, Setting It on Fire (Star-Ledger)
  
• Linden, NJ: 2 Injured When Driver Hits SUV on Shoulder of NJ Turnpike (AP)
• Woodbridge, NJ: Truck Breaks Sound Barrier, Bursts Into Flames on Tpk. (NJLN)
  

Out of Town

• Cambria, NY: 2 Die in Rural in One-Car Crash; Speeding Suspected (AP)
  
• Providence, RI: Man Bites Off Ear of Ex-Girlfriend's Date, 6-Year-Old Son Run Over (AP)
  
• Phoenix, AZ: Mother, 3 Kids Struck by Hit-and-Run Driver; 1 Child Killed (AP)
• Athens, GA: Man Sentenced to 8 Years for Death of Child Cyclist in DWI Hit-and-Run (AP)
• Toms River, NJ: Comedian Artie Lange Pleads Guilty in DUI Crash (AP)
• Ventura, CA: "Pulp Fiction" Writer Roger Avary Gets 1 Year for DUI Death (AP)
  

Photo: Staten Island Advance

• News: Despite Vasean's Law, Kelly Case Exposes Continued Injustice of NY DWI Procedures
• For Cops Accused of DWI, Refusing Breath and Blood Tests a No-Brainer (Advance)
• NYPD Hopes to Calm Staten Island School Zone Chaos (Advance)
  
• Obama Admin Bans Gov't Workers From TWD; Federal Bans Forthcoming (Streetsblog Cap Hill)
  
• Motorists Defend, Rationalize Distracted Driving (NYT)
• Toyota Recalls 3.8M Vehicles for Accelerator-Engaging Floor Mats (NYT)
• NHTSA: Quiet Hybrids More Dangerous to Cyclists (NY Examiner)

* Since the week of June 8
** Drivers charged for deaths since the week of June 8, based on latest available reports

Photo: Daily News

• Brooklyn: Two Dead in Motorcyclist, Cyclist Collision (The Local 1, 2)
• BQE: Off-Duty NYPD Detective Killed After Rear-Ending Garbage Truck (News)
• Bronx: 20-Year-Old Crushed Changing His Oil (AP)
• Staten Island: 1 Killed in Suspected DWI Crash; Driver Charged With Homicide (News, Advance 1, 2, 3)
  
• East Meadow, LI: Man Charged With Manslaughter Following Fatal DWI Collision (Newsday)
• Holmes, NY: Speeding Teen Dies in One-Car Crash (LoHud 1, 2)
• Derby, Shelton, CT: 2 Dead in Separate Motorcycle Crashes (CT Post)
• New Canaan, CT: Motorcyclist Succumbs to Injuries One Week After Crash (CT Post)
  
• East Brunswick, NJ: Elderly Driver Collides With Garbage Truck; 3 Dead (NJLN)
• Toms River, NJ: 1 Killed in Two-Car Crash; Unlicensed Driver Charged (Star-Ledger)
• Tinton Falls, NJ: Motorcyclist Hits Cement Divider (Star-Ledger) 
  

Photo: Newsday

• Manhattan: 6-Year-Old Hit by SUV Driver, Hospitalized; No Charges (Post)
• Manhattan: Cab Driver Plows Into Horse Carriage; Two Injured (Streetsblog)
• Queens: Woman Hit by Q65 Bus (News)
• Queens: School Bus Driver Accused of Drunk Driving (AP)
  
• Staten Island: Man Charged With DWI, Leaving Scene After Hitting Parked Car (Advance)
• Staten Island: Driver With Two Flat Tires Arrested for DWI (Advance)
• Yonkers: Man Hits 12 Parked Cars, Charged With DWI (LoHud)
  
• Cortlandt, NY: Woman Found Drunk After Leaving Scene of One-Car Taconic Crash (LoHud)
• Kent, NY: Ambulance Crashes Into Trees; Driver, Patient Injured (LoHud)
  
• Medford, LI: 11-Year-Old Critically Injured Cycling Home to Feed Cat; No Charges (Newsday 1, 2)
• West Babylon, LI: Police Cruiser Collision Sends Car Into House (Newsday)
• Valley Stream, LI: Shoplifting Suspects Drive SUV Into Guards, Injuring 2 (Newsday)
  
• North Hills, LI: Crash Involving Dump Truck, Four Cars Closes Eastbound LIE (Newsday)
  
• Hempstead, LI: Atlanta Olympics Champ Charged With DWI (AP)
• Southbury, CT: 5-Year-Old Critical After School Bus-Car Collision (CT Post)
• Milford, CT: 73-Year-Old Pedestrian Struck, Injured by 17-Year-Old Driver (CT Post)
  

Following Up

• Manhattan: Truck Driver Convicted of Murder in 2008 Tourist Deaths (Streetsblog)
  
• Rockland Co.: Bronx Asst. Principal With DWI Charge Says She Was Just Drowsy (AP)
  
• East Meadow, LI: Police ID Escalade Model in Fatal Hit-and-Run (Newsday)
• Dix Hills, LI: State Considering Wantagh Bike Path Improvements After Summer Fatality (Newsday)
• Stamford, CT: Man Pleads Guilty in Fatal DWI Ped Collision (CT Post)
• Stamford, CT: Man Charged With Felony Assault in June Crash (CT Post)
  
• Summit, NJ: Teen Gets 10 Years for Killing Girlfriend in High-Speed Wreck (NJ.com)

Photo: AP/NYT

• Buffalo: Pedestrian Pinned Against Parked Minivan, Loses Leg (AP)
• Camden, NJ: Former Boxer Tony Thornton Dies After Motorcycle Crash (Philly Inq.)
  
• Atlanta, GA: Motorists Swept Away, Killed by Floodwaters (NYT)
  
• Atlantic Beach, SC: State Rep Calls for Mayor's Ouster After DWI Arrest (AP)
• Sunnyside, WA: Bollards Save Girl From Out-of-Control Driver (Post Video)
  
• Littleville, AL: Severely Injured Teen Trapped Overnight After Crash (AP)
• Waukegan, IL: Woman Indicted for Causing Fatal Crash While Painting Her Nails (AP)
• Wilsonville, OR: Nine Injured in Crash Involving Two Dozen Motorcyclists (AP)
• Milan, Italy: British Team Cyclist in Coma After Scooter Crash (Reuters)
  

Trends

• KY Blogger Marvels at Even-Handed Coverage of CO Cyclist Crashes (Barry's BB)
• Obama Admin Expected to Act on Truck, Bus Driver Cell Phone Ban (AP)
  
• Do Tweeting State DOTs Encourage Distracted Driving? (AP)
• White House Puts Trucking Lobbyist in Charge of Truck Safety (Streetsblog Cap Hill)
  
• NYT Op-Ed: Despite Progress, Drunk Driving Remains a Prevalent "Cultural Misdemeanor"
• Might Car Safety Features Soon Protect Those Outside the Vehicle? (NY Examiner)

* Since the week of June 8
** Drivers charged for deaths since the week of June 8, based on latest available reports

Photo: Daily News

Scarlett was also convicted of assault, presumably for injuring a third pedestrian, Abayomi Henderson, who seconds earlier had walked around the couple as they strolled down the sidewalk.

While it's not unheard of for a sober city driver to be charged for killing someone -- in cases of drag racing, for instance-- it is, as Streetsblog readers know, extremely rare, and even more so for prosecutors to secure a murder conviction.

"I can't recall any prior instance in which a killer driver who wasn't intoxicated was convicted of murder," says Charles Komanoff, long-time pedestrian safety advocate and author of Killed By Automobile, "and that includes many of the roughly 200 fatal instances since 1990 when the driver mounted the sidewalk."

Komanoff cites several such cases in which drivers whose negligence resulted in death were given a slap on the wrist, or were subject to no legal sanctions at all. Stella Maychick, mistaking the gas pedal for the brake, killed six people and injured two dozen in Washington Square Park in April 1992: no charges filed. Isaac Chehebar, joy-riding at twice the speed limit on Ocean Parkway, killed sisters Inna and Svetlana Shetman and maimed their mother Rima Shetman in April 2001: plea-bargained by Brooklyn DA Charles Hynes to four months. And most recently, delivery driver Chao Fu, leaving his van with the engine running and the gear in reverse, killed toddlers Diego Martinez and Hayley Ng in Chinatown last January: no charges filed.

The decision to prosecute Scarlett for manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide was announced almost immediately. "Apparently, he stopped taking his medication," an NYPD spokeswoman said the day after the crash. "It was a conscious decision, so he's being charged." Why Auvryn Scarlett and not Chao Fu? Local coverage of the trial was scant, but a BBC report offers some insight:

Summing up the prosecution case at New York Supreme Court, assistant district attorney Chris Ryan said Scarlett had shown a complete disregard for the safety of others.

Driving six days a week for the refuse haulage company, he knew he could have a seizure at any time "on some of the busiest streets on earth".

He said: "It is like playing a game of Russian roulette, only instead of pointing the gun at yourself, you point it at other people. And if someone dies -- that is murder."

The Scarlett prosecution seems to hinge on the "conscious decision" not to take his seizure medication, making it a reverse DUI case of sorts. It could also be that the incident was captured on video, which prosecutors showed to the jury, or even that the victims were living a New York fairytale -- lovebirds on a Valentine's Day stroll -- the instant they were brutally killed. Whatever factors were at play in determining whether to bring charges (Streetsblog has a message in with District Attorney Robert Morgenthau's office), Transportation Alternatives Executive Director Paul Steely White questions how the Scarlett case could differ so greatly from that of other pedestrian fatalities.

"Don't people make a conscious decision to speed or a conscious decision to turn without yielding?" says White. "Are we saying that people are somehow unconscious when they're breaking the law? The bottom line is that people are responsible for their own behavior, especially when they're driving a multi-ton vehicle. Scarlett's actions were no more deliberate than the majority of negligent motorists who routinely get off scot-free."

Komanoff agrees: "It would be a positive sign if [Scarlett's prosecution] signaled the end of the Manhattan DA's habitual coddling of killer drivers. But if it's back to business as usual after this case, then one is left wondering why one driver's failure to take medication is treated more harshly than the failure of other drivers to refrain from gross, fatal negligence."

One hopes that under future DA Cy Vance, holding killer drivers accountable will indeed become the norm. Unfortunately, with pedestrian deaths on the rise, safe streets advocates will probably have their first indication not long after Vance takes office in January.

Auvryn Scarlett will be sentenced for the murders of Jacqueline Timmins and Andrew Hardie on October 15.

Central Park erupted into a scene of chaos early Saturday afternoon after witnesses say a taxi heading west from 60th Street toward Fifth Avenue hit an empty horse and buggy carriage before slamming into a brick wall.

"Actually he was coming very high speed, too, cause you see the big hole he made in the wall, he was coming very, very fast," said one witness.

"All of a sudden I heard this loud thump and I saw a horse going over toward Fifth Avenue, loose, before I saw a couple of drivers, the carriage drivers, stop the horse and there was a cab driver I assume it was now laying in the street," said another witness.

The cab driver and the carriage operator were injured, while horse Blackie, miraculously, was unharmed. No word that we could find on what charges, if any, were issued (the Post says the driver "was reportedly suffering from a seizure," but gives no source).

Though animal advocates were quick to paint Saturday's crash as further evidence that horse carriages have no place in traffic (an argument with which I personally agree), it was in fact only the latest example of cabbie-induced carnage.

The Times on Sunday ran a brief editorial reiterating the paper's recent coverage of cab drivers and cell phones. Cab-riding New Yorkers may recognize the dangers of driving on city streets while distracted, the Times says, but few do much about it: the TLC reports just 175 complaints regarding yakking drivers through July of this year. Despite the ubiquity of the offense -- when was the last time you got in a cab where the driver wasn't on the phone? -- NYPD is virtually no help, issuing under 1,000 tickets to cabbies in all of 2008, and just 232 through the first half of 2009.

Given the bleak state of enforcement, the Times advises readers to either buckle up or withhold gratuities. While option two might work on a case-by-case basis, this got us wondering: What should the protocol be for a safe streets advocate sitting behind a reckless cab driver? Confront the cabbie? Complain to TLC? Both? Or are you a conscientious objector, avoiding cabs altogether?

Kids at the scene of the September 12 Williamsburg crash that killed 9-year-old Joshua Ganzfried. Novella Bilkerdyk, the repeat traffic offender who hit Ganzfried, was driving without a license. She was not charged for his death. Photo: Daily News

Fatal Crashes (9 Killed This Week, 164 This Year*, 15 Drivers Charged**)

• Brooklyn: Boy, 9, Hit En Route to Temple; Unlicensed Driver Not Charged (News, Post)
• Related: Victim Joshua Ganzfried's Younger Brother Drowned in '04 (News)
  
• Brooklyn: 66-Year-Old, Out for Ice Cream With His Dog, Killed; No Charges Filed (News, Post, Post)
• Manhattan: Woman Killed by Turning Bus on Eighth Ave.; No Charges Filed (News)
• Yonkers: Three-Car Crash Kills 1, Injures 5 (LoHud, CT Post)
  
• East Farmingdale, LI: Pedestrian Struck Leaving Night Club (Newsday)
• East Meadow, LI: Unidentified Pedestrian Killed in Apparent Hit-and-Run (Newsday)
• Greenwich, CT: Unexplained One-Car Crash Leaves Driver Dead (CT Post 1, 2)
  
• Naugatuck, CT: Motorcyclist Thrown From Bike; Police Investigating Cause (AP, CT Post)
  
• Edison, NJ: Motorcyclist Killed in Collision With Limousine (Star-Ledger 1, 2)

Photo: Newsday

• Queens: Teen Hit by City Bus in Critical Condition (NY1)
• Staten Island: 10 Arrested for Drunk Driving Last Weekend (Advance)
• Staten Island: SIE Crash Leaves at Least One Motorist Injured (Advance)
  
• Staten Island: Four-Car Crash Sends One to Hospital (Advance)
• Staten Island: Motorcyclist Injured on SIE (Advance)
• Yonkers: Drag-Racing Teen Slams Into Police Cruiser, Injuring Trooper (LoHud)
• Hoboken: Underage Drunk Driver Hits Parked Car Outside Police HQ (Jersey Jrnl)
• Newark: Police Van Rear-Ends Truck; Prisoners, Officer Hurt (Jersey Jrnl)
• New Rochelle: 12-Year-Old Hit by Driver Treated and Released (LoHud)
  
• North Castle, NY: Driver Critical After Wrong-Way Crash (LoHud)
  
• Rockland Co., NY: Bronx Principal Caught Driving Drunk on Way to Work (1010 WINS, News)
  
• Brentwood, LI: Woman Hit by 2 Drivers; One Stops, One Doesn't (Newsday)
• East Rockaway, LI: LIRR Service Disrupted When Driver Flips SUV on Tracks (Newsday)
• East Hampton, LI: Actress Mercedes Ruehl Ticketed for Collision With Motorcyclist (Post)
• Mt. Pleasant, NY: Another Drunk Wrong-Way Driver Nabbed on Taconic (LoHud, Post)
• Nanuet, NY: Driver Crashes Into Restaurant, Pleads Brake Failure; No Charges (LoHud)
• Stamford, CT: Medical Condition Suspected in One-Car Crash; Driver in Serious Condition (CT Post)
  

Following Up

• Manhattan: Truck Driver on Trial for Murder in Death of British Tourists (News, Post)
• Bronx: Livery Driver Testifies Against Man Accused of Causing Fatal Ped Crash (News)
• Ossining, NY: Woman Arrested for July Hit-and-Run Death of Man in Driveway (LoHud)
• Carmel, NY: Driver Arrested for Running Man Down After Argument (LoHud)
  
• New Brunswick, NJ: Man Gets 8 Years for DWI Killing of Police Officer (1010 WINS)
• Somerville, NJ: Man Pleads Guilty in DWI Death of Fiance (Star-Ledger)

Photo: Atlanta Journal-Constitution

• Cleveland, OH: Cycling Yale Grad Killed in Hit-and-Run (New Haven Safe Streets)
  
• Amherst, MA: 1 Cyclist Hurt, 1 Killed in Hit-and-Run (AP)
• Raleigh, NC: Wedding Becomes Memorial Service When Groom-to-Be Dies in Two-Car Crash (AP)
• Atlantic Beach, SC: Mayor, Repeat Traffic Offender, Arrested for DWI (AP)
• Atlanta, GA: School Bus Driver Charged With Homicide in Student's Death (AJC)
• Fairbanks, AK: Woman Indicted for Manslaughter in "Car Surfing" Fatality (AP)
  
• Dunmore, PA: Driver Plows Into Crowd Gathered for Charity Event, Pleads Brake Failure (AP)
• Claysville, PA: Head-On Collision Precipitated by Post-Proposal Kiss (AP)
  
• Scranton, PA: Police Fail to Locate Fatal Crash Site for Days Despite Numerous 911 Calls (AP)
  
• West Friendship, MD: Man Killed on Road He Decried as Unsafe (AP)
• Jeromesville, OH: Man Crashes Into House, Struck and Killed Walking Away From Scene (AP)
  

Trends

• Future Manhattan DA Cy Vance: I Will Crack Down on Traffic Crime (Streetsblog)
  
• Burden of Safety Has Long Fallen on Most Vulnerable Road Users (Streetsblog)
• Westchester Bill Would Allow Seizure of DWI, Drag Racing Vehicles (News)
  
• Another Cost of Drunk Driving: Nassau Cops Racking Up Overtime (Newsday)
• Oregon DOT: More Drivers Distracted, Failing to Yield to Cyclists (Hard Drive)
  
• NYT: It's Time for a Federal TWD Law
  
• Which Should Concern Parents More: 115 Abductions or 250,000 Traffic Injuries? (NYT)

* Since the week of June 8
** Drivers charged for deaths since the week of June 8, based on latest available reports

L-r: Manhattan DA candidates Richard Aborn, Cy Vance and Leslie Crocker Snyder

Earlier in the day, 9-year-old Joshua Ganzfried was walking to temple in Williamsburg when, at Bedford Avenue and Wallabout Street, he was struck by Novella Bilkerdyk, a habitual traffic offender with a suspended license. While she stands to receive a slap on the wrist for being behind the wheel, Bilkerdyk, like Fred Wilson's killer -- like hundreds of other city drivers before them -- reportedly faces no punishment for taking a life.

These deaths didn't take place in Manhattan, but there is little if any doubt that if they had the legal ramifications for each driver -- none whatsoever -- would have been the same. As proven time and time and time and time again, Manhattan motorists involved in deadly pedestrian and cyclist collisions -- as long as they're sober and don't flee the scene -- are as a matter of course found not guilty on the spot, their victims condemned to death and, conveniently for the driver, police and prosecutors, eternal silence.

Tomorrow, for the first time since 1974 and only the second time since 1941, Manhattan voters will choose a new district attorney. The candidates hoping to succeed Robert Morgenthau -- Richard Aborn, Leslie Crocker Snyder and Cy Vance -- have all promised to approach traffic crime as a serious public threat, worthy of investigation and prosecution. The deterrent effect of such a turnaround, as drivers learn that serious "accidents" come with commensurate consequences, should be augmented by measures each candidate has promised to enlist the aid of NYPD and toughen penalties for gateway crimes like speeding. With overall road deaths and pedestrian fatalities on the rise (292 and 147 in 2008 citywide, respectively), and the notorious "Rule of Two" still the guiding principle of traffic law enforcement, a reinvigorated DA's office with a progressive traffic justice agenda will be critical to making Manhattan streets safer.

We kicked off our coverage of the DA's race with a March interview with Leslie Crocker Snyder. At the time Snyder admitted that she was no expert on traffic issues, but promised to learn more. Since then, following a debate organized by Transportation Alternatives (which Snyder did not attend), she has followed Aborn and Vance in releasing a transportation safety platform plank. Aborn was the first to take that step, and by most accounts his performance at the June forum, and his subsequent statements, have shown him to have the most nuanced understanding of the unique perniciousness of traffic violence.

Make no mistake, however: As Streetsblog readers have noted, the mere fact that traffic justice has emerged as an issue in this race is a milestone. The battle is far from won, but safe streets advocates at the very least have Manhattan's next district attorney on the record pledging to hold motorists accountable for their actions on city streets.

Photo: Newsday

• Brooklyn: Man Crushed to Death Changing Oil of SUV (AP)
• Staten Island: Driver Dead in Two-Car Crash (Advance) 
• Cortlandt, NY: 1 Killed After Driver Crosses Center Line (LoHud)  
• Hauppauge, LI: Pickup-Car Collision Leaves 1 Driver Dead (Newsday)
• Jackson Twp, NJ: Three Pedestrians, Including 2 Kids, Struck; 1 Dead (Star-Ledger)
• Cranford, NJ: Man Jumps to His Death Following Crash (Star-Ledger 1, 2)
  

Photo: Daily News

• Brooklyn: Food Delivery Man Seriously Hurt When FDNY Cruiser Hits Scooter (News, News) 
• Manhattan: Unidentified Cyclist Suffers Injury Involving Parked SUV (Streetsblog)
• Staten Island: 3-4 Injured, Including Child, When School Bus and SUV Collide (News, 1010 WINS)
• Staten Island: Teen Cab Driver Crashes, Narrowly Avoiding Peds; Advance Is Glad He's Okay
• Related: Dispatcher Blames Pedestrians for Being in the Way (Advance) 
• Staten Island: Car Crashes Into Restaurant; No Injuries Reported (Advance)
• Staten Island: Drunk Driver Hits 2 Cars, Punches Cop (Advance)
  
• Queens: Man Hit By Speeding NYPD Officer, Hospitalized in August Collision (News)
• Yonkers: Woman Charged With Rage Assault on Driver (LoHud)
• Yonkers: Two Seriously Injured in One-Car Crash (LoHud)
  
• Yorktown, NY: Drunk Bronx Livery Driver Stopped Going Wrong Way on Taconic (AP, LoHud)
  
• Carmel, NY: Police Look for Suspects in Hit-and-Run That Followed Argument (LoHud)
• Southampton, LI: Town Supervisor Arrested for DWI (Newsday) 
• East Moriches, LI: Drunk Driver Catapults SUV Into House (News, Newsday)
• Melville, LI: Out-of-Control Driver Hits Cars, Pinning Woman to Building (Newsday)
• Babylon, LI: Driver Hits 70-Year-Old on Morning Walk; Authorities Probe Rest Home (Newsday) 
• Brentwood, LI: Man Plows Into 4 Parked Cars, Injuring 3; Charged With DWI (Newsday)
• Bridgeport, CT: Witnesses Render Aid After Horrendous Two-Car Crash (CT Post) 
• Newark: Hit-and-Run Driver Leaves Pedestrian Critical (Star-Ledger) 
• Jersey City: Motorcyclist Stable After Collision With Suspected Drugged Driver (Jersey Jrnl) 
• Hillside, NJ: Unlicensed Woman Hits Curb, Pole, Flips Car (NJ.com)
  
• Jersey City Pedestrian Run Down in Street; Jersey Jrnl Finds the Funny
  

Following Up

• Queens: Driver Gets 3.5-Year Minimum Prison Term for Killing Two Women in 2008 (Post, News)
• Westchester: Squabbling Over Diane Schuler Crash Continues (1010 WINS) 
• Toms River, NJ: "American Idol" Ped Victim Was Drunk; Won't Affect Charges (Star-Ledger, AP)
• Trenton, NJ: Unlicensed Driver Indicted in Crash That Killed Unlicensed Motorcyclist (Times)
• Norwalk, CT: Accused Drunk Driver Pleads Not Guilty in Motorcyclist Death (CT Post)
  

Out of Town

• Westport, NY: Brooklyn Woman Killed When Husband Flips Minivan (NC Gazette) 
• Concord, VT: Three Drivers From Same Family in Four-Car Crash (AP)
• Brompton, AL: Man Wrecks Car, Jumps From Bridge to Avoid Car in Second Crash (AP) 
• Fairbanks, AK: Argument at Bar Leads to Woman Being Shoved From Moving Car (AP)
• Clayton Co., GA: Fleeing Police, Solicitation Suspect Kills Mother and Daughter (WSB)
  
• Dallas, TX: Mom Hits, Kills 3-Year-Old Son as He Rides Bike Outside His House (AP) 
• Salt Lake City, UT: Boy, 5, Killed During Family Hay Ride (AP)
• Fredericksburg, IA: Go-Kart Collides With Pickup; 2 Teens Dead (AP)
• Hopkinton, MA: 1 Dead, 2 Hurt When Motorcycles Crash During 9/11 Memorial Ride (AP)
• Chester, SC: Truck Driver With "Bald Tires" and "Bad Brakes" Cleared for Killing 2 Kids (AP)
  
• Adelaide, Australia: Professional Cyclist Sentenced for Running Down Fellow Rider (AP) 
• Beijing: Drunk Driver Who Killed 4 Avoids Death Penalty; Gets Life in Prison (AP)
• Monroe, GA: Trumpet Player Fred Mills Killed in Crash (AP)
  
• Ft. Lauderdale, FL: New Evidence Delays DWI Death Trial of Former Yankee Jim Leyritz (News)

Photo: Arizona Republic

• NYC Road Deaths, Pedestrian Fatalities Rose in 2008 (Post) 
• Post's Phil Mushnick Says Corzine and Christie Should Answer for Driving Records
• Suffolk Pols Question Whether Cams Should Target Rolling Stops (Newsday)
• Suffolk Police Focus on Drivers Near Schools, Buses (Newsday) 
• DC Artist Responds to City-Removed Ghost Bike With 22 More (WashCycle) 
• New NTSB Chief Orders Staff Not to Use Phones While Driving (CNN)
• Friends Don't Let Friends Drive Distracted (NYT) 
• Public Menace With Three Dozen Tickets Dons Monkey Mask to Evade Traffic Cams (AZ Republic)

* Since the week of June 8
** Drivers charged for deaths since the week of June 8, based on latest available reports

This was the scene at Seaman Avenue and 207th Street in Inwood at around 6:15 p.m. Wednesday. It appeared that the cyclist -- a white male in his 40s or 50s -- was doored by the driver of the Toyota 4Runner. The cyclist was elevating his hand, which was bleeding pretty heavily, before medics arrived. Police on the scene were talking to the woman in the photo after the jump, so I assume she was the driver. I'm no lip reader, but she looked none too thrilled with being held up, or having her picture taken.

I never saw the cyclist emerge from the ambulance, which departed after about 20 minutes. While I was trying to get a clear shot of the SUV, the bike disappeared from the street. Once NYPD and FDNY left the scene, the woman walked south on Seaman, leaving the SUV parked.

I called the 34th Precinct this morning to verify that the cyclist was transported and to ask if the driver received a summons. The officer I spoke with first told me I would need to come down to the station if I wanted information, then said no one on duty during the day would know anything about an incident that happened in the evening. This is typical of how the 34th Precinct interacts with the public.

Seaman Avenue is a pretty busy cycling street. If anyone saw what happened, please let us know in comments. And if you're the cyclist, we'd love to hear how things turned out.