Queens Pedestrian Struck by SUV, Dragged to Coney Island
We knew SUV’s were an insensitive consumer response to climate change, but after reports today of one such driver striking and another dragging a pedestrian’s body 17 miles along New York City’s highways, the mobile monstrosities will likely face even more adversity.
City Room sums up the episode:
A pedestrian was struck by a sport utility vehicle on a street in Corona, Queens, on Wednesday morning, then immediately struck again by a cargo van that dragged the victim 17 miles through a web of city highways and to Coney Island in Brooklyn, the police said. The pedestrian, apparently a male, was killed.
The victim had not yet been identified, though some paperwork was found in the clothing on his body, which was wedged under the van’s chassis, the police said. The authorities said there did not appear to be any criminality involved.
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The irony, of course, is that most people would consider unawarely dragging a body with your car on any major highway criminally negligent. And any vehicle so large it prevents you from adequately understanding and responsibly interacting with your surroundings, might be deemed contrary to the human experience.
Though the original driver of the SUV dialed 911 after striking the victim, responding police officers were unable to locate a body. A team of officers is currently retracing the second vehicle’s route to locate the victim’s dismembered remains.
The identity of the victim has not been released and an autopsy has been scheduled for Thursday to ascertain this morning’s course of events more precisely.
This event, however tragically, undeniably demonstrates the degree to which SUV’s are ill-suited to public roads that simultaneously serve bicycle and pedestrian traffic. I’d like the police to explain how exactly this isn’t a crime.
Photo by Heathbrandon at Flickr under a Creative Commons License.
This story is horrifying. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been almost mowed down by SUVs on my bike and while on foot. The drivers tend to barely flinch, even when it was an incredibly close call.
I think you’re right on…these cars remove the drivers from their surroundings. Pedestrians and cyclists must feel like characters on TV from behind all of that glass and metal.
The SUV hit the person and then called the cops. The van dragged the person. Did you read the article or just paste it in here?
Apparently this isn’t even the first time this week, in nyc for pedestrians to be struck twice by two different vehicles: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/02/09/2009-02-09_mom_and_two_kids_run_over_twice_on_brook.html
And Matt, I’m aware of the facts. It’s weird, how I AM capable of reading, huh? But my point still stands. The SUV started it off and then the enormous van, both too large for their own good so as to isolate the operator from exterior events, led to the man’s death, in gruesome combination.
I’m a cyclist and a walker just like you are… and I also know how to read articles and report stories truthfully. I knew this guy, unlike you who twists a horrible tragedy for a self-serving cause.
Don’t be an asshole.
Add the “www.” in front of the link below and paste in your address bar for another potential automotive risk:
independent.co.uk/environment/green-living/look-out-for-the-125mph-electric-car-because-you-wont-hear-it-905451.html
I don’t disagree that SUVs are dangerous and isolating, unsustainable and, for the most part, unnecessary. But this story does not at all support your argument. Since the SUV driver did notice that she/he had hit someone, and she/he did pull over to call 911 immediately, I don’t see how that proves that she/he was somehow removed from the human experience. It was the cargo van’s driver that had no idea he was dragging someone.
Your point would be stronger if you were criticizing cargo vans, because that driver does appear to have been unaware of his surroundings enough to drag someone 17 miles unwittingly. The SUV driver? Knew exactly what had happened and reacted immediately. People are hit by motor vehicles daily–how is this one any different from being hit by a sedan, a coupe, or… a cargo van?
Collin: Exactly. The author of this post focused on the word SUV and failed to process anything else. This article would have read the same if the story was that a SUV hit a person, stopped and called 911, while a Prius dragged the guy 20 miles.
Mary:
If your complaint is with cargo vans, I think you need to edit your last sentence a bit:
“This event, however tragically, undeniably demonstrates the degree to which
SUV’scargo vans are ill-suited to public roads that simultaneously serve bicycle and pedestrian traffic. I’d like the police to explain how exactly this isn’t a crime.”