A pedestrian was killed when a car jumped a curb and flew onto a sidewalk in front of store in Brooklyn Monday evening, police say, the latest in a recent string of vehicle-related deaths in the city.
It's not clear what caused the driver of the Nissan Sentra to crash onto the sidewalk and partially into a beauty supply store in the area of 900 Flatbush Ave. in Prospect Park South at about 5 p.m. The storefront was shattered, and a tree lay broken at its trunk outside.
One pedestrian was struck and killed, and three others -- the 58-year-old driver, a 3-year-old passenger, and a woman on the sidewalk struck by debris -- were injured, police said. They were taken to Kings County Hospital, where they're listed in serious but stable condition.
Surveillance video obtained by NBC 4 New York shows people walking outside the store just as the vehicle flies onto the sidewalk, taking down the tree as it flips over and lands upside down. A man walking in a suit and talking on the phone is in the car's direct path, and he appears to notice the vehicle barreling toward him only the instant before it hits him, attempting unsuccessfully to jump out of the way.
The 50-year-old pedestrian who was killed has not been identified.
The deadly accident adds to the tally of vehicle-related fatalities in New York City since Halloween, which now stands at 12. The mayor defended his Vision Zero plan Monday, however, saying that while any deaths are a cause for mourning and concern, the city's streets are safer than they have ever been.
"Vision Zero is working," said de Blasio, who touted that last year's number of pedestrian deaths was the lowest in a century. "This has just begun. This is an effort that is just over a year old and is already yielding real results."
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On Monday alone, a 62-year-old man on a scooter was killed in Queens as he swerved away from an open car door. Last week, three trick-or-treaters, including a child, were killed in the Bronx; an 84-year-old woman was run over by a charter bus that never stopped in Flushing, Queens; and on the Upper West Side, a grandmother was struck by a taxi driver finishing his 16-hour shift.
City officials said 192 people, including 107 pedestrians, have been killed this year in the city through Sunday. Last year during that same period, there were 226 fatalities, including 119 pedestrians.
And in 2013, the year before de Blasio took office and enacted Vision Zero, there were 237 fatalities, including 140 pedestrians.
A key component of Vision Zero — a traffic plan originated in Sweden in the late 1990s with the audacious goal of reducing the number of traffic fatalities to zero — is stepped-up enforcement of traffic regulations.
Police Commissioner William Bratton said Monday that New York police officers have issued 12,000 more speeding tickets than a year ago and increased the number of tickets given for failing to yield. He attributed the rash of deaths to a random statistical "spike" and said officers would remain vigilant in enforcing traffic rules.
Over the past year, the citywide speed limit has been lowered to 25 mph, and dozens of intersections have been redesigned to make them safer for cars and pedestrians. De Blasio said Monday that more intersections would be transformed in the coming weeks.
