STATEN ISLAND, New York — Traffic on the westbound side of the Staten Island Expressway ground to a halt after a multi-car accident. The initial reports from first responders at the accident scene indicated that at least four vehicles were involved in the collision, which was near the Richmond Avenue exit. The emergency call reporting […]
Multi-Car Crash
STATEN ISLAND, New York — Traffic on the westbound side of the Staten Island Expressway ground to a halt after a multi-car accident. The initial reports from first responders at the accident scene indicated that at least four vehicles were involved in the collision, which was near the Richmond Avenue exit. The emergency call reporting the crash came in at 6:44 p.m. according to SILIVE.com. At least one person sustained significant injuries. New York EMS services transported that individual to Staten Island University Hospital North, located in Ocean Breeze for treatment of non-disclosed injuries. Neither the New York Police Department nor the Fire Department of New York indicated how the crash might have occurred or whether the police arrested any of the motorists involved.
Multi-vehicle accidents, meaning a crash involving three or more vehicles, have greater lethality than either a one-car or two-car accident. Only about ten percent of all vehicle crashes reported to authorities are multi-vehicle collisions nationally. In the state of New York, multi-vehicle crashes occur in almost seven percent of all motor vehicle accidents. However, multi-car accidents in New York State cause around 25 percent of all fatalities annually. Multi-car accidents have a greater chance of inflicting serious injury or death than other types of crashes because each vehicle suffers multiple strikes which violently throws a person’s body around.
Multi-vehicle crashes can happen in a variety of ways. A multi-car crash can occur when two vehicles collide, and the initial collision throws the vehicles into others. A rear-end accident could spur a chain-reaction crash. High-speed collisions also elevate the danger that one vehicle will contact at least one other car. On an interstate highway, such as the Staten Island Expressway, a multi-car crash can happen when a driver leaves the appropriate travel lanes and sideswipes another vehicle, sending both spinning out of control. Lastly, multi-car crashes sometimes occur at intersections when a driver aggressively attempts to beat the changing light.
