WHITESTONE, Queens (WABC) — Families have been fighting to improve safety conditions on a dangerous stretch of roadway in Queens, where five people were killed in a single accident last week.
It’s known as “dead man’s curve,” where the Cross Island Parkway and the Whitestone Expressway meet.
On New Year’s Day, two cars collided on the curve from the northbound Cross Island Parkway to the southbound Whitestone Expressway. All five people onboard one of the vehicles were killed.
But this isn’t the first fatal accident on the curve.
“I think of my son every turn and I think of that area, that curve thinking of how many people are going to die there,” said Chris Arsenault to Eyewitness News Investigative reporter Dan Krauth.
“To be honest with you, I wasn’t surprised,” he said about the recent incident. “It’s never been fixed, never been changed. How many people have to die there before they do something?”
Eyewitness News found deaths reported all the way back to 1987 at the intersection long before Arsenault’s son’s death and others, that happened long after.
It’s an area known for accidents for most people living in Whitestone, Queens — many of them try to avoid the intersection altogether.
The city says the speed limit was reduced on the curve to 25 miles per hour, and there’s also reflective signage and a guide rail along the curve.
“They need to do something, I mean five people in one accident, that’s unbelievable,” said Arsenault.
The City’s Department of Transporation told Eyewitness News in a statement that while “a preliminary investigation has determined speeding was a factor…” they “are exploring if there are additional safety measures that can be implemented at the location.”
If any safety changes were to be made, the state of New York and MTA would have to be involved, along with the city, which would take some time.
Meanwhile, crashes have gone down overall on the entire length of the Cross Island Parkway over the past three years.
