An elderly woman may lose both her legs after a city bus struck her in Forest Hills, the Police Department said.
Cops said the 85-year-old was trying to cross Queens Boulevard near 108th Street on Jan. 15 when the Q64 MTA bus hit her as it was making a right turn onto the hectic multi-lane roadway, according to officials. She was immediately taken to Bellevue Hospital to be treated for severe – but not life-threatening – injuries to her lower legs.
Marisa Baldeo, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, said the bus was in service at the time of the incident and a full-on investigation has been launched.
The incident occurred the same day Mayor Bill de Blasio was in nearby Woodside to announce a new city initiative geared towards curbing pedestrian deaths. He stood beside Police Commissioner Bill Bratton to announce the program, dubbed “Vision Zero,” as the city’s road map to eliminate deadly crashes for drivers and pedestrians.
“We will be just as aggressive in preventing a deadly crash on our streets as we are in preventing a deadly shooting,” Bratton said. “Our police are going to enforce the laws on our streets consistently and effectively.”
The mayor’s plan, he said, was to compile a report that sets out to reduce pedestrian deaths to zero within the next 10 years. Up to this point, the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene reported being struck by a car as the leading cause of injury-related deaths for children younger than 14, and the second leading cause for senior citizens.
“This will be a top-to-bottom effort to take on dangerous streets and dangerous driving. We aren’t going to wait and lose a son, a daughter, a parent or a grandparent in another senseless and painful tragedy,” de Blasio said in a statement. “Our top responsibility is protecting the health and safety of our people. From tougher enforcement to more safely-designed streets and stronger laws, we’ll confront this problem from every side—and it starts today.”
By Phil Corso
