A pedestrian was tragically killed by a dump truck while crossing the street in Times Square on Saturday, February 6, 2021. The victim, 64-year-old Tamar Rhode of Gaithersburg, Maryland, was walking Eastbound on Broadway at West 45th Street when the truck struck her around 3:00 p.m. The unidentified 55-year-old driver was making a left turn onto Seventh Avenue in the middle of the Crossroads of the World when the incident occurred. Rhode, still conscious, was rushed to Bellevue Hospital for severe leg trauma but later died of her injuries.
Farooq Ayad, a food truck vendor whose truck is located at the intersection where the accident occurred, described the incident: “The truck dragged her, and she went underneath. When they pulled her out, she wasn’t moving.”
The driver remained on the scene and no criminal charges are expected to be filed. Authorities said Rhode was in the crosswalk at the time of the incident and had the light. An investigation between the Collision Investigation Squad and the Manhattan District Attorney’s office is ongoing.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victim’s family during this difficult time.
Accidents involving garbage and dump trucks are not uncommon, and can pose serious risk to pedestrians. Some factors that may contribute to causing a garbage truck or pedestrian accident include:
- Use of a crosswalk by the pedestrian
- Failure to yield
- Distracted driving, including fatigued driving
- Speeding
- Weather conditions
- Left turns
- Road conditions
- Truck maintenance
- Pressure to rush
Despite the drop in traffic due to the pandemic and lockdown last year, traffic fatalities have actually risen. In fact, 175 people died on city roads last year. Experts say that without the usual congestion from cars and pedestrians, motorists had been driving at faster speeds. Indeed, the number of tickets issued for speeding doubled during that time, according to the New York Times, and speeding poses a serious risk to pedestrians.
Pedestrians involved in traffic crashes can sustain serious, even life-threatening injuries. The attorneys at Block O’Toole & Murphy know all too well the pain and devastation brought on by accidents like these. Our attorneys will work hard to obtain justice for those that have been injured as a result of another party’s negligence in an accident. Some of our pedestrian accident results include:
- $32,756,156 jury verdict for a 60-year-old pedestrian who was struck by a speeding, heavily impaired driver, leaving him with debilitating injuries, including brain damage
- $13,500,000 settlement for a 24-year-old woman who was walking home in Suffolk County when she was struck by a company-owned car, resulting in catastrophic injuries
- $12,000,000 settlement for a 5-year-old child who was standing on the sidewalk when two cars collided and one jumped up on the sidewalk and hit him; he suffered multiple fractures and some internal injuries
- $5,000,000 settlement for two women who were tragically killed by a private garbage truck in Midtown West
- $3,000,000 settlement for a woman who was struck by a garbage truck illegally operating in a bicycle lane, resulting in multiple fractures
- $2,100,000 settlement for a cyclist who was hit by a garbage truck making a right-hand turn, suffering a herniated disc as a result
- $2,000,000 settlement for a front-seat passenger who was hit and seriously injured by a sanitation truck
- $1,750,000 settlement for a couple who was rear-ended at a red light by a city-owned garbage truck
If you or someone you know has been injured in a garbage or dump truck accident, the expert attorneys at Block O’Toole & Murphy are here to help. Call 212-736-5300 or fill out our online contact form for a free, no-obligation legal consultation.