QUEENS, NY- Abc7news.com writes that a woman was killed while riding in an Uber. The victim, Gabriella Deen, 19, was traveling east on Archer Ave. when a speeding Mercedes heading northbound on Guy R. Brewer Boulevard struck the Uber.
Deen was rushed to the hospital where she was declared dead from her injuries. The driver of the Uber, 28, and a 23-year-old male passenger who had been riding with Deen were both transported to the Jamaica Hospital, where they are said to be in stable condition.
The driver of the Mercedes, Alfaheed Odesanya, 19, reportedly ran through the red light at the intersection and was speeding at the time of the crash. Odesanya is facing charges of criminally negligent homicide.
Deen’s family described her as a bright young woman who was very responsible and was a great older sister to her young siblings.
According to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), in 2014, 8,661 people were killed in car accidents at intersections, 710 of those fatalities occurred because of drivers running through red lights. The total number of traffic-related fatalities for that year was 32,675.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says that drivers who run red lights are often young and male. These drivers often have previous speeding convictions, records of previous car accidents, and alcohol-related driving infractions. Drivers who cause crashes because they ran through a red light is more likely to have been speeding or under the influence of alcohol at the time of the collision.
One study indicates that people run red lights at a rate of about three times an hour. This is despite the fact that 93% of drivers believe that driving through red lights is unacceptable.
