Patrick Donovan, a 42-year-old driver, died yesterday when his luxurious Mercedes-Benz was speeding and collided with a private garbage truck at an intersection in Brooklyn, the NYPD said.
The 54-year-old driver for Cogent Waste Solutions was making a U-turn at the corner of Gerritsen and Florence Aves. in Gerritsen Beach around 12:30 a.m. Friday when the Mercedes crashed into his 2018 Mack truck, he described Daily News.
Private garbage hauler in Brooklyn fatally strikes Mercedes Benz driver, police say
The collision is the latest black mark on New York City’s private carting industry, which has been accused of running roughshod as they go from pick up to pick uphttps://t.co/8BGBUmBCyL
— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) January 5, 2024
Donovan was rushed to Brookdale Medical Center, but did not survive. “He was a good brother. He was a great father,” his brother Michael said yesterday, while he and his family lit candles and placed flowers at the accident site. He had just returned to the neighborhood when the fatal accident occurred, he added.
He left behind a 17-year-old orphaned son, who was also at the scene of the accident yesterday. The Mercedes-Benz was traveling at high speed when it collided with the garbage truck, sources with knowledge of the case said.
The garbage truck driver remained at the scene and did not immediately face any charges, the police said. The investigation into the accident continued yesterday.
“We are saddened by this tragic loss of life. “We are cooperating fully with the investigation,” said Ara Chekmayan, a spokesperson for the collection company Cogent.
Private haulers are expected to receive a new city-run “zoning system” that would limit the areas in which private companies can pick up trash to avoid road accidents.
The City Council authorized the new program in 2019 after private garbage truck drivers caused a series of fatal accidents while driving long routes through the city. In an effort to increase profits, many garbage haulers assign crews to routes that cover wide areas and, in some cases, take more than 12 hours to complete..
The new program will divide the city into 20 zones. He Department of Health (DSNY) will grant commercial garbage transportation rights in each zone to up to three companies, the only ones that will be able to collect garbage from businesses in the assigned area. The zoning system should be in place by the end of 2024, city officials said.
Last December, thirteen people were injured after an MTA bus and a DSNY truck collided in The Bronx (NYC).
In April 2022, a 3-year-old baby and his grandmother died when they were hit by a garbage truck in broad daylight in Poughkeepsie, New York.
The authorities remember that there is zero tolerance for drivers who drive at excess speed and/or under the influence of alcohol and drugs..
Last month the New York Governor Kathy Hochulsigned the “Angelic Law”, intended to keep drivers with prior suspensions off the road by charging repeat offenders who operate vehicles after committing five or more traffic violations that resulted in prior suspensions or revocations as a felony.
Traffic accidents are a great challenge in New York and In many cases the drivers flee. This despite “Vision Zero” road safety plan created in 2014 by then-new Mayor Bill de Blasio, who promised to make the city safer for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists with a goal of zero deaths by 2024. According to the NYPD, cyclist deaths increased 260% in the first six months of 2023 and 325% since the implementation of the “Vision Zero” plan in 2014.
2024-01-06 15:42:09
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