On Saturday, May 14, 2011, a Volkswagen car travelling at an excessive speed lost control while exiting the lower-level of the Queensboro Bridge near Crescent Street. The vehicle went airborne and landed on the roof of a livery cab. The driver of the livery cab was able to exit the vehicle just seconds before the Volkswagen landed on the roof. Fortunately, no one involved in this accident suffered serious injuries1.
This marks the third time in a six week span that a car accident has occurred at the off-ramp. The last two accidents ended much more tragically. In April, a driver lost her life when she lost control of her Jetta in the same location and crashed into 2 storefronts. In March, the driver of a Volkswagen Golf had an accident in the same spot, killing a pedestrian and suffering major injuries including an arm amputation1.
After the second accident in April, the Department of Transportation reduced the speed limit on the off-ramp from 30 MPH to 20 MPH and installed speed strips1. However, this clearly was not enough to slow drivers down and prevent another accident. More needs to be done to make the off-ramp safer and easier to maneuver and to make drivers more aware of the dangerous turn.
Gersowitz Libo & Korek, P.C. urges all drivers to exercise extreme caution when driving on this Queensboro Bridge off-ramp. If you have any questions about this story, or if you or a loved one has been the victim of a car accident, contact the experienced law firm of Gersowitz Libo & Korek, P.C. at 800-529-9997.
1The Queen Gazette; May 18, 2011, Front Page; Third VW Accident at QB Bridge Exit Ramp (Liz Goff)
