A Child Dead, Another Critically Hurt In NYC Sidewalk Car Crashes

New York City NY

10 February, 2022

10:09 AM

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NEW YORK CITY — A 10-year-old girl is dead and a five-year-old boy critically injured after two separate car crashes occurred Wednesday on New York City sidewalks, authorities said. Davina Afokba, 10, died after a 2009 Mazda slammed into her on a Beach Channel Drive sidewalk near Dix Avenue in Far Rockaway about 4:15 p.m., police said. The 34-year-old driver—whom the New York Post reported carried only her learner's permit — also hit a 33-year-old woman who was taken to a nearby hospital in stable condition, officials said. About an hour earlier, a 5-year-old boy running down East 12 Street near Avenue N was struck by a BMW, driven by a 49-year-old woman pulling into a Midwood driveway, police said. Medics rushed the boy to Maimonides Hospital, where he's listed as in critical condition, officials said. The crashes are only the latest in what's shaping out to be a deadly year on New York City's streets. At least 23 people, including Afokba, have died in traffic crashes so far in 2022, according to data compiled by Transportation Alternatives. The advocacy group recently highlighted a 38 percent increase in fatalities as compared to the same point last year, as well as another spate of crashes that claimed four New Yorkers' lives. One of those deaths was Jack Mikulincer, a 99-year-old Holocaust survivor on his way to a synagogue. Marco Conner DiAquoi, deputy director for TransAlt, said the recent crashes showed the need to fast track street safety measures and keep motorists with multiple tickets off the roads. "We need solutions to save lives now," he said in a statement. "These solutions start on the local level with action by Mayor Adams and the City Council." The crashes Wednesday are still under investigation by NYPD officers. The motorists involved both stayed at the crash scenes, officials said.