61st Precinct: Number Of Pedestrians Struck By Cars Fell 30 Percent In 2015

The number of pedestrians struck by vehicles in Sheepshead Bay and its surrounding neighborhoods fell by 30 percent in 2015, according to police.

Speaking at the 61st Precinct Community Council meeting Wednesday, Captain Jason Hagestad, the station house’s executive officer, reported that 185 people were struck by cars in 2015 — compared to 263 the previous year. Out of those collisions, five were fatal, he said.

Hagestad explained that all of the fatal crashes involved people over the age of 80.

“Unfortunately, sometimes when you are old and you get hit by a car, it exacerbates other conditions that might lead to a fatality,” Hagestad said.

He said the precinct’s officers were raising traffic safety awareness at local senior centers and had already held meetings at several facilities. Hagestad also urged drivers to always be on the lookout for pedestrians, regardless of their age, and warned that the new Vision Zero law mandates prison time for drivers who kill a pedestrian after failing to yield.

“If the person has the right of way, let them go. I can’t stress that enough,” he said. “If you’re not giving the right of way, you’re going to get a summons. And if that person passes away, you’re going to get locked up now.”

Despite the dip in pedestrian collisions, Hagestad reported that the total number of accidents increased by 7 percent in 2015. However, the number of crashes resulting in injuries fell by 5 percent, he said.

Elected officials are also working to address traffic safety issues and reduce pedestrian fatalities in the neighborhood. After a 52-year-old woman on a mobility scooter was killed in August at the intersection of Nostrand and Avenue Z, Borough President Eric Adams pledged to add sidewalk extensions to the intersection.

City Councilman Chaim Deutsch and Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz also helped facilitate a plan by the DOT to overhaul the intersection at Guider and Coney Island avenues — which a 2004 study found to be one of the most dangerous crossings in southern Brooklyn.