A two-car collision in Manhattan early Wednesday cost two pedestrians their lives and injured another five, three of them critically, authorities say.
According to the preliminary investigation, two vehicles may have collided head-on near West 207th Street on Sherman Avenue in Inwood around 4 a.m. One of those vehicles apparently hit some parked cars and pedestrians, police said.
Surveillance video from near the scene of the crash showed a BMW speeding along Sherman Avenue, and appearing to run a red light before T-boning a Subaru at the intersection. The force sent the Subaru flying onto the sidewalk, where two men — 40-year-old David Fernandez and 31-year-old Joel Adames — were standing, leaving them no where to go.
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Both pedestrians were transported to local hospitals where they were pronounced dead. It was not clear if the critically injured three are drivers or pedestrians. The other two victims are expected to survive. Police say their investigation is ongoing.
Friends of the two men who died said that Fernandez had just finished giving Adames a late night cut, when everything ended.
"(Adames) just finished seeing his barber and they walked down the street. They were in the wrong place at the wrong time, I guess," said Wilmer Gomez, a cousin of Adames, a proud father of a 22-month-old daughter.
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A friend of Fernandez's said he was "one of the nicest kids that I ever see. Nice, quiet, hardworking kid." Others remembered him as a talented Salsa dancer, who would teach on the side.
The accident comes less than 48 hours after New York City activated its 2,000 speed cameras in 750 school zones across the five boroughs 24/7 for the first time, citing data that proves it significantly cuts traffic fatalities and speeding.
The executive director of Transportation Alternatives, a group that advocates for better walking, biking, and public transit for all New Yorkers, said that "walking on the sidewalk should not be a death sentenced" and called for multi-layered approach when it comes to keeping people safe.
"Earlier this week, speed safety cameras began 24/7 operation. While this is a significant win for street safety, Vision Zero has always depended on a multi-layered approach to keeping people safe," Transportation Alternatives Executive Director Danny Harris said in a statement. “To reach Vision Zero, we need the Adams administration to redesign streets for safety and for Albany to let us expand additional automated enforcement tools. Right now, state law only allows red light cameras at 1 percent of signalized intersections in all five boroughs. This restriction is deadly, and we demand that Albany legislators lift the limits on the red light camera program to start saving lives.
“Walking on the sidewalk should not be a death sentence, yet, today, like too many other days in this city, it was. We send our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of the two people killed in the preventable crash uptown this morning.”
