Two Hurt After Yet Another Crash At Queensboro Bridge Off-Ramp
NEW YORK (CBS 2) -- A car crashed into a row of stores at the foot of the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge on Saturday, marking the third time it's happened in the last few months.
The rash of accidents has prompted demands for changes to the traffic patterns, reports CBS 2's Kristin Thorne.
"They have to do something to stop the accidents," Matthew Hyde said.
1010 WINS' Terry Sheridan has more on the crash from Long Island City.
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It was the area's third major car accident in the exact same spot, all within the past six weeks, at the off-ramp from the Queensboro Bridge in Long Island City.
The latest accident, which occurred early Saturday morning, landed two men in the hospital with minor injuries – but that wasn't the case in the two previous crashes.
In March, a 68-year-old man was struck by a car as it hit a nearby business, dying right on the sidewalk. Nine days later, a passenger was killed when a driver lost control, slamming into the same building.
Saturday's accident left nearby business owners and residents rattled.
"The employees are all scared," one deli owner said.
"It's like the new Queens Boulevard, I guess," a resident said.
People said the accidents all started happening when construction began in the area. The Department of Transportation said that after the NYPD completes its investigation into this latest accident, they'll determine whether changes need to be made.
The DOT added rumble strips at the end of the ramp to get drivers to slow down, and added several speed limit signs along the ramp as well.
"There's too much going wrong, and there's too much of a chance that someone else could die," City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer said.
Councilman Van Bramer, along with several other legislators, wrote a letter to the DOT calling on the department to do a complete safety review of all Queensboro Bridge off-ramps.
"If we know that some people are going to go faster than they should, this exit ramp has to be safe enough," Councilman Van Bramer said.
In an ironic twist, each of the cars involved in the crashes were Volkswagens.
When called for comment, a Volkswagen spokeswoman said she was sad to hear about the accidents. She said that Volkswagen had not received any complaints, but that they were looking into the crashes.
