Thoughts On Fatal Accident In Chinatown

Manhattan, NY— On Saturday, July 19, at 7:30 am. Chinatown was struck with a tragedy. A 55-year-old male cyclist, identified as Kevin Scott Cruickshank, and a 63-year-old female pedestrian, identified as May Kwok, were hit by a stolen blue Chevrolet Malibu speeding down Manhattan Bridge at more than 60mph. Both victims were found dead, and Kwok’s legs were torn from her body.

Witnesses report that the driver and the passenger both escaped from the scene and were found intoxicated.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time a car accident that could have been prevented has occurred. Recently, on June 15 at Coney Island Avenue and Avenue U in Homecrest, two police officers and one other person were critically injured in a three-car accident involving alleged drunk driving. Alleged or not, the issue remains present; a car accident could've been prevented. 

Ultimately, many of these victims' deaths go unnoticed, as the passenger is receiving criminal charges and unauthorized driving, despite the driver not receiving any. There should be a greater enforcement of responsibility towards those who inflict harm on others,  especially those who tend to be the doers, as the family will have to live with the sadness for their lives due to the unfair death. If there were more enforcement for these criminals, there would be fewer victims losing their lives from senseless tragedies: stolen cars, intoxicants, distraction while driving, and speeding, instead of allowing these criminals to be let out with few consequences.   

Furthermore, there have been a few resolutions to these problems, but they fail to handle the issue overall. Examples are stop lights and speeding cameras. While this allows drivers to be further alert where they are driving, accidents can still occur when the driver only needs to pay the fee, without truly understanding the impact of their mistakes. Understanding one’s actions can be the next step towards improving our society. 

Hence, it is absolutely important to have stricter regulations, especially for those who are repeat offenders, to have a more stringent penalty, which would lead to a safer, healthier environment- nne thing that Senator Chan believes is possible as he continues with the fight for stricter laws on mopeds and electronic vehicles.

For more information: 
CONTACT:
The Office of Senator Stephen T. Chan
Phone: (718) 333-0311
Email: Chan@nysenate.gov