New York Legal Blog

Florence Cioffi, a woman who survived 9/11 and was just days from her 60th birthday, was killed in a New York City car accident on January 24 when she was run over by a vehicle driven by computer software executive George Anderson just before 11:00 PM on Water Street in Manhattan. Mr. Anderson kept driving, but returned to the scene a short time later, where he was observed by police officers to have bloodshot eyes, smell of alcohol, and have slurred speech. Mr. Anderson refused a police request to take a breathalyzer test. Police immediately administered a blood alcohol test; the results have not been announced yet.

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Posted by Mark Siesel | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Car Accidents in New York

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Global positoning devices (GPS), although a lifesaver to some, have been blamed for numerous New York car accidents over the last few years. Most recently, earlier this month, a driver from California caused a fiery car accident when he turned on to railroad tracks in Bedford Hills and his vehicle was struck by an oncoming train when the car became stuck on the tracks.

The driver, a 32 year old who works for a SIlicon Valley tech company, claims that the GPS device in his vehicle instructed him to turn right onto the train tracks leading to the January 4 New York motor vehicle accident with the oncoming train. The driver exited the vehicle before the accident and was not injured.

Since 2005, according to Dan Brucker of Metro-North railroad, a growing number of out of state drivers have informed police that they were following GPS devices instead of paying attention to signs at parkway entrances. A spokeman for Garmin, the largest GPS seller in North America, indicated that 15% of cars are now equipped with the GPS devices.

Investigators caution that following the rules of the road, and obeying rodway signs, always takes precedence over GPS devices, which can be quiet distracting with their illuminated maps and authoritative voice commands.

Posted by Mark Siesel | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Car Accidents in New York

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