crimes and misdemeanors

NYPD Has Few Answers on Car Accidents

NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 26: A New York Police Department (NYPD) van is viewed on January 26, 2012 in New York City. After New York City's police commissioner Raymond Kelly appeared in the film
NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 26: A New York Police Department (NYPD) van is viewed on January 26, 2012 in New York City. After New York City’s police commissioner Raymond Kelly appeared in the film “The Third Jihad” Muslim groups are asking him to step down. The groups say that the film they depicts Islam and its followers in a bad light. Approximately 20 activists held a news conference on the steps of City Hall criticizing Kelly for giving an interview to the producers of the film, which warns against the dangers of radical Islam. The film was shown to hundreds and maybe thousands of NYPD officers for training purposes. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) Photo: Spencer Platt/2012 Getty Images

Law enforcement officials attempted to explain to City Council today why drivers in fatal and other serious accidents are so rarely prosecuted in New York City, only to admit that a lot of figures on the issue remain unknown. What is known: Out of 241 pedestrians or cyclists killed last year, just seventeen drivers faced criminal charges (and not the one who hit Mathieu Lefevre, for example). Meanwhile, truckers received 25,377 summonses last year, while cyclists got 48,556. Gothamist has more unsettling info from the hearing.

NYPD Has Few Answers on Car Accidents