A man was killed in Hell’s Kitchen on Thursday morning after being struck and pinned down by a tractor-trailer, police reported.
The man, believed to be in his 40s, was crossing 8th Avenue at W44th Street at around 11:30am today when he was hit by a truck traveling north.
The victim was pinned under the vehicle. Police said that he suffered severe head and body trauma and was declared dead at the scene. The street was blocked for more than four hours while police investigated and removed the body from under the tractor-trailer. The truck driver stayed at the scene.
The truck is owned by Kenseal Construction Products Corporation based in Long Island City. The New York Post reported that records show the Kenseal truck has incurred 117 traffic violations, including seven tickets for speeding in a school zone and one for running a red light since 2015.
Streetsblog reported that this pedestrian would be at least the 78th killed this year. They also pointed out that the area around the Port Authority Bus Terminal is an exceptionally dangerous area for pedestrians. Since January 2020, there have been 107 reported crashes on just the three blocks of Eighth Avenue between 42nd and 45th streets, injuring 13 cyclists, 18 pedestrians and 19 motorists, according to city data. Last year, W42ST reported on a car flipping over after hitting three cars, a pedestrian and a pedicab on this same stretch of 8th Avenue.
The Department of Transportation recently widened sidewalks on 8th Avenue in a safety initiative. W42ST reported last week that similar sidewalk widening will take place on 9th Avenue this fall.
We must drive cars from our streets—pun intended!
This midtown area is No place for these huge tractor trailers, Semis etc. Enormous trucks must be banned !
I was struck by a ” limousine ” on 9th Ave. & 42nd street, a wee few years back ,in Sept . during the ” UN conference” . I’m lucky I’m alive . He was driving a diplomat towards the tunnel, & ran the red light . He had ” diplomatic immunity” , & I had a broken back. I perform for a living , & SHITE, this really put a ” damper ” on my ” backbends” . The way I was struck, I landed on top of his friggin Limo & he looked at me as though I was ruining HIS day! I I was back on stage within 10 months though. The bottle of Wine I had in my hand , for me agent was fine , didn’t even break, & in fact was taken in the ambulance with me, which I drank later in the hospital. ( Thank you St. Lukes) . I saw the ” Big Apple ” Meat Market ” from the window of the ambulance. Two ” traffic ” police were there , when I got stuck, which did me NO good. You have to be sooo careful in this area . 8th ave, 9th ave, & now even 10th Ave. is filled with dangerous drivers. . I was unconscience & when I came to, I was told that I was hit by a limo. I answered ” I hope it was a very FANCY LIMO. ” Drs said I should have been dead, or a Paraplegic. I answered ” No bloody way . I still have shoes in me closet I have’t worn . ” Talking about shoes, when I got struck, & laying there, someone yelled ” Ohh my God , that’s Natasha , AND then, somebody stole me shoes! I think it was a guy. Soo here are me words of wisdom dear neighbours . ” Just be careful . Look both ways . Wait for the light to change. Wave at the TRAFFIC POLICE, & it still won’t do you any good! YOU could still be struck .” On a lighter note. St Lukes hospital lets you drink while you are recuperating ! Ok Cheers all.
Check the truck maintenance records………
This is terrible, of course, but there is no way to ban trucks in NYC. Construction trucks must service construction sites, and deliveries need to happen on every block. Surely, improvements can be made to better protect pedestrians, but banning trucks isn’t possible.
Also, just to be precise, this was not a tractor-trailer truck, but a straight truck. It would be helpful in the long run if we could get more details about this incident and find out what actions caused this tragedy.
Truck drivers are usually in a hurry because of traffic.Pedestrians are also in a hurry .Truck operaters have limited visibility.The traffic in Manhattan is very confusing and dangerous.I’m sure the operater of the trailrer wasn’t planning on running anyone down zThere is no real control of people or traffic.Instead of worrying about space ,they should concentrate on controlling situations for the safety of people who line in NYC.Spend some money on safety.