05/24/2012 // New York, NY, USA // New York Injury Accident Lawyer // Jonathan C. Reiter // (press release)
Broadway actor Michael McKean was injured Wednesday, May 23, 2012, after he was struck by a car on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, reports New York City injury lawyer Jonathan C Reiter. The pedestrian accident occurred at West 86th Street at approximately 3 pm.
McKean was transported to St. Luke’s Hospital after the incident, suffering from wounds to his head. It was upon arrival that doctors discovered he had a broken leg as well.
According to the reports, McKean unfortunately had to step away from his starring role in Broadway’s “Gore Vidal’s The Best Man.” His publicist explained it will be the first instance of him missing a curtain “in his entire life,” adding, “His understudy has never gone on in 40-plus years.”
There is no criminality suspected in the incident, according to information received by Mr. Reiter.
The 64-year-old actor is best known for his role as Lenny on the 1970s sitcom, “Laverne and Shirley.”
According to NHTSA, 4,280 were killed and over 70,000 were injured in pedestrian/motor vehicle crashes in 2010, nearly twelve people every day of the year. The number of injuries is probably higher in actuality because many pedestrian crashes that cause injury are not recorded by the police.
The New York City Department of Transportation has reported that pedestrians accounted for 52% of traffic fatalities from 2005 to 2009. 27% of fatal pedestrian crashes involved driver’s failure to yield to pedestrians in the crosswalk. Thus, a pedestrian’s obedience to the law by crossing in the crosswalks is scant protection from being struck by a motor vehicle turning the corner at high speed. While the City has instituted design measures at a few intersections in Manhattan to protect pedestrians, the vast majority of walkers crossing at the corner are completely exposed to negligent drivers turning into them. Driver inattention and excessive speed were also cited as significant contributing factors in pedestrian accidents.
“The City needs to do a lot more to reduce the risk to pedestrians crossing in the crosswalk. Crosswalks should be moved to the middle of the block on major streets and traffic lights installed so that pedestrians are not exposed to negligent drivers making turns into them,” explains Reiter.
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