Paramedics and FDNY attend to an 18-year-old woman who was struck after stepping of the curb at the Bridgeton Street corner residents say is so dangerous it’s a surprise to them someone hasn’t been killed at the location. Patricia Adams/The Forum Newsgroup
Less than a week after residents in Howard Beach on Bridgeton Street approached to The Forum to help them get the street’s direction changed, an 18-year-old woman was struck by a car after stepping off the curb into the street.
About two weeks ago, homeowners on the block began preparing a petition to have the direction of the street changed, because, they say, it is extremely dangerous.
“It may seem unbelievable that something like this just happened, but to us it’s almost expected,” said Elisa Capritto, a resident on the street who, along with her husband, fears for the safety of the children on the street including their own daughter who is not permitted on the sidewalk outside. “We are very thankful that the woman was not killed,” said Capritto, “but the next time we may not be so lucky.”
Neighbors who gathered outside along the street watched as the 18-year-old was loaded into an ambulance. “She said she was just walking after dropping her niece off at school,” said the visibly shaken driver, an Ozone Park resident named Phyllis, who said she was on her way to go food shopping at Waldbaums.
The driver, who was not impaired, remained at the scene to furnish police with details.
Now, residents say they hope that this incident will serve as a warning to more serious consequences that could arise at the location at any time. “It’s uncanny that a young woman should get hit with a car in the middle of all this and us trying to do something about this,” said Capritto. “Maybe it’s a sign that we are on the right track to making sure it doesn’t happen again,” she said. “Let’s hope the city sees it that way.”
By Patricia Adams
