Dinowitz Expresses 'Shock and Sorrow' Following Fatal Flushing Bus Crash, Calls for Safety Improvement

Chair of Assembly Committee with MTA oversight calls for city to look into dangerous intersection to improve MTA bus driver safety

Dinowitz mourns with victims' families, urges swift recovery to injured

  In response to this morning's fatal bus crash in Flushing, Queens, Assembly Member Jeffrey Dinowitz, Chair of the Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions, is calling on the City of New York to review safety at the intersection where the incident occurred. The Assembly Member cited news reports claiming that area has been the site of multiple accidents in recent years, creating a danger to the MTA's fleet of bus drivers working in the area.

"I join my fellow New Yorkers in expressing shock and sorrow over the fatal bus crash that occurred in Flushing this morning. I mourn with the families of the three victims, and urge a speedy recovery to the Q20 bus driver and all passengers and pedestrians injured today. While we await a full account of what happened at the intersection of Northern Boulevard and Main Street, it's clear that the area has suffered from numerous traffic incidents in recent years," said Assembly Member Dinowitz.  

"As Chair of the Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions, I am committed to ensuring all MTA bus drivers remain safe from injury as the do their job of transporting their fellow New Yorkers. That's why I urge the city to conduct a thorough review of this intersection and find ways to improve traffic conditions. Public transportation remains the among safest and most efficient means of commuting, and we need take steps to prevent incidents like this from happening in the future."

EDITOR'S NOTE:

  If Assemblyman Dinowitz was to know this intersection, eastbound traffic comes down on Northern Boulevard from a bridge over the Van Wyck Expressway and Grand Central Parkway. There is a traffic light at the first intersection of Northern Boulevard and Prince Street which is at the bottom of the hill from the overpass. NYPD has always had police covering this intersection as cars, trucks, and buses come down at a rapid rate of speed, and will not stop when the light changes. Thus many many traffic tickets have been written in the past on Northern Boulevard just past Prince Street. 

  The second intersection is that of Northern Boulevard and Main Street where MTA buses turn from Main Street onto Northern Boulevard. This appears to be a case of the private bus company bus coming down the overpass at a very fast speed, going through the intersection at Prince Street with or without the traffic signal in the drivers favor, and then because the private bus was speeding it could not stop at Main Street the very next intersection. 

  In news reports there was mention of the private bus speedometer frozen at 60 miles per hour upon impact with the MTA bus and building on the corner of Northern Boulevard and Main Street. It was also reported that the private bus driver was dismissed from the MTA for reasons not mentioned. The news report also stated the safety record of the private bus company. It may appear that the Chair of the Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions should look closer at the safety records of private bus companies, including school bus companies, and access a-ride companies.