Last night, crossing the street as a pedestrian a block from my home, I was struck by a car. I was in the crosswalk and had the right of way with 14 seconds left on the walk signal.
The car that hit me was turning left. He was distracted by a bike and another car who was rushing him & trying to go around him. He never saw me, he freely admitted his distraction to the officers from @NYPD78Pct.
And yet, the @NYPD78Pct officer told me that this was my fault. Told me that vehicles have rights of way, and asked if I’d tried to “make contact” with the car to stop him from hitting me. Yeah, I made contact with my body as it hit the hood of his car. @bradlander
I was in the middle of being treated in the back of the ambulance when the accusation occurred. I was already shaking from adrenaline, I couldn’t believe the @NYPD78Pct officer was blaming me for being hit by a car when I was in the crosswalk with the right of way. @bradlander
It’s now almost 24 hours later. I am sore, but fortunately not badly injured. All I could think as I was falling to the pavement was that I didn’t want to die and leave my wife & 4 year old son. But I am also so angry at the behavior of the officer. @NYPD78Pct @bradlander
New York City is the greatest city in the world, but we treat pedestrians (and cyclists) like we’re all disposable at the expense of cars. I’ll be following up directly with the office of my CM @bradlander, in whose district the accident also occurred.
