November 30, 2010 – North Hills, NY – Eyewitness News New York reports that a drunk driver traveling in the wrong direction crashed on the Long Island Expressway. The accident occurred November 16, less than 24 hours after a New York police officer was killed on the Long Island Expressway in another wrong way crash involving a drunk driver. Katelyn O’Connell, 22, of Westbury, was driving west in the east lanes on the Long Island Expressway when she collided with another vehicle near Shelter Rock Road by Exit 35, police said. The collision occurred at about 5 a.m. The driver of the other vehicle, whose name was withheld, was a 27-year-old from Glendale. That driver was taken to North Shore Hospital with non-life threatening injuries. O’Connell was taken to Winthrop Hospital where she was treated for abrasions and contusions. She remained in police custody while at the hospital and is being charged with reckless endangerment and driving while under the influence. In the early hours of Monday, November 15, Police Office Andre Menzies, 35, was killed in an accident on the Northern State Parkway and Michael Bowen, 50, was charged with drunk driving. According to statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2009, there were 1,156 fatalities as a result of traffic accidents in the state of New York.
To help raise awareness of traffic safety in the New York area, our firm will frequently publish blogs about traffic accidents that occur throughout the 5 boroughs and beyond. We do this to raise awareness about the common types of motor vehicle accidents that occur in New York that may result in serious injury or traffic fatalities.
Among the most common types of traffic accidents in New York are:
- accidents caused by hazardous road conditions;
- single-vehicle crashes;
- rollover accidents; and
- “distracted driver” accidents or crashes caused by intoxicated drivers.
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