Car strikes jogger at Liebig Avenue and W. 259th Street

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Local residents in a north Riverdale neighborhood are calling for traffic calming measures near the intersection of West 259th Street and Liebig Avenue after a recent crash there left a jogger injured. 

Police said that on Oct. 17 at around 10:20 a.m., a man in a Honda was driving westbound on Liebig Avenue near the intersection with West 259th Street when his car hit a 45-year-old Riverdale shop owner who was jogging there.

According to a witness at the scene, when the woman hit the windshield of the car, she flew into the air before falling to the pavement several feet away. 

Peter Ostrander, 64, was in his garage when he heard a big bang.

“I thought two cars got hit,” he said. “That’s how loud it was. As soon as I stepped out of the car, I [saw] a body there.”

Emergency personnel transported the woman to St. Barnabas Hospital, where she was listed in stable condition, according to police. 

They added that no charges have been filed against the driver. Police could not confirm if speeding played a role in the accident. 

According to the police report, the driver claimed that the pedestrian “came out of nowhere” at the time he was driving up the road.

Numerous incidents

However, witnesses said there have been numerous accidents at the tricky crossroad over the years. They blamed speeding and drivers’ inattentiveness while dealing with challenging blind spots.

“All of Riverdale has very tight roads,” explained Rudy Rosario, 27, who lives on Liebig Avenue with his family. “Cars have to pull over constantly to let other cars go by, and that’s why a lot of accidents happen.”

Mr. Rosario, who witnessed the accident on Liebig last Friday, said that the driver of the Honda was not “going excessively fast,” but added, “Basically [the jogger] was running by the intersection [and] the guy was coming up the hill and I guess she didn’t see him, and vice-versa. He didn’t see her because there’s a blind spot on that corner on 259th and Liebig with bushes.”

Fearing the worst

Tanisia Morris, Liebig Avenue, Car Accident, Injury, Pedestrian, 259th Street, Riverdale, DOT, Speed Bumps, Speed Humps,
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