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Queens Residents Hold Vigil At 'Confusing' Intersection Where City Truck Driver Killed Boy
By
Sydney Pereira
Published Jan 8, 2020
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Sydney Pereira/Gothamist
By
Sydney Pereira
Published Jan 8, 2020
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On Tuesday night, neighbors and local leaders gathered to mourn the death of 10-year-old Shree Panthee, who was fatally hit by a Department of Sanitation truck driver while crossing the street with his mother in Queens yesterday morning.
Candles, flowers and a teddy bear were piled up next to a light pole on the corner of 57th Avenue and 97th Street, the intersection where the boy and his mom—who suffered serious leg injuries—were hit while reportedly walking to school from their home in LeFrak City just before 7 a.m. Tuesday.
"It shouldn't take a tragedy to happen for us to come together," said Michelle Dunston, LeFrak City Tenants Association president. "Just 10 years old. It's a tragic accident."
The driver, 40, was pulling out of a driveway on 97th Street to turn right onto 57th Avenue, when he hit the mom and son with the passenger side wheel of the sanitation dump truck, police said. An NYPD spokesperson said Wednesday morning there had been no summonses or charges made against the driver, though the investigation was still active.
Department of Sanitation spokesperson Dina Montes said DSNY is also conducting an investigation, and the driver had been "suspended from driving and placed on modified duty." He could be disciplined, pending the investigation's findings.
The intersection where a city truck driver turned right out of a driveway onto 57th Avenue, fatally striking 10-year-old Shree Panthee and seriously injuring his mother.
Sydney Pereira / Gothamist
LeFrak resident Dil Kc, who joined the vigil with his son, said his wife knew the boy's mom, a part of Queens' Nepalese community. The driveway where the truck driver exited is "confusing" for residents, he said. The driveway is lined with fencing and leads to a sidewalk before drivers turn, but Kc said there isn't proper signage at the driveway to warn drivers or pedestrians to use caution.
Queens Councilmember Francisco Moya said he has asked the Department of Transportation for better lighting along the avenue—something LeFrak City Tenants Association wants as well—and more time for pedestrians to cross the street compared to the current 15-second crossing time.
"We're always kind of playing catch up when there's another tragedy that happens," said Councilmember Francisco Moya. "There are simple things that can be done right now that would help."
He also wants additional crossing guards for the area, which has two schools nearby, and the signals changed so that pedestrians can cross before drivers turn left or right. Retrofitting city trucks to improve driver visibility would help too, he said.
DSNY spokesperson Montes said the department is "committed to Vision Zero" and has equipped 1,500 vehicles with side-guards and 900 with rear-view cameras. It was not immediately clear whether the truck involved in Tuesday's crash had either.
The vigil was held at 57th Avenue and 97th Street.
Sydney Pereira/Gothamist
The LeFrak City Tenants Association is meeting with the DOT on January 15th.
"We do need to have a bigger approach of how we're designing our streets. This is a major city that is always evolving," Moya said. "And we need to adapt to the times that are now, ensuring that the pedestrians are going to be the ones that we prioritize here because we're seeing so many of these tragedies happening."
UPDATE 2:35 p.m.: The DOT confirmed it will meet with the tenants association this month and has been working with the association in recent months regarding pedestrian improvements along 57th Avenue, where an eastbound bike lane was installed last fall. Regarding future changes, a DOT spokesperson said, "DOT will visit the crash site along with NYPD and will continue to evaluate the location for potential further safety improvements, as we do after any traffic fatality."
This article was updated with additional comments from the Department of Sanitation.
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we the commuters
pedestrian fatalities
department of sanitation
vision zero
queens
Sydney Pereira
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