New York police have reported that six people were injured the morning of March 30 in an accident on the Grand Central Parkway in Queens County. The crash caused all of the busy highway’s eastbound lanes to be closed for more than three hours. Paramedics transported the accident victims, three of whom had been injured critically, to the trauma center of the New York-Presbyterian hospital. Initial reports indicate that excessive speed may have been the primary cause of the crash.
According to a New York City Police Department report, the sequence of events began when a Honda Accord sedan driven by a 20-year-old man struck the central guardrail and spun into the rear of a Mini Cooper. Police say the Honda struck the Mini with such force that three of its occupants were ejected. The car accident took place in the vicinity of the Van Wyck Expressway and Jewel Avenue exits at approximately 8:15 a.m.
The driver of the Honda and the 49-year-old man behind the wheel of the mini escaped the accident with only minor injuries, but the three ejected passengers were hurt more seriously. An 18-year-old man suffered a broken leg, a 19-year-old woman suffered a deep hand laceration and a 29-year-old woman suffered a fractured skull. The rescue operation lasted for several hours and caused two of the westbound lanes as well as all of the eastbound lanes of the Grand Central Parkway to be closed.
Police reports are usually thorough when motor vehicle accidents cause death or serious injury, and the conclusions of accident investigators may be used by personal injury attorneys to establish reckless behavior in lawsuits filed on behalf of accident victims. These findings could even be useful if prosecutors decline to press charges because the standard of proof in civil actions is not as strict as it is in criminal trials.