200 People Have Been Killed in Traffic Crashes in NYC This Year

An elderly woman was struck by a car at Canal Street near the Manhattan Bridge Tuesday morning, making her the 200th person to die this year in a traffic crash, according to a WNYC analysis. 

Most of the deaths this year have been in Brooklyn and Queens, and about half are pedestrians. Compared to last year, the pace of deaths is down slightly. At the end of September 2014, 190 people had been killed in traffic crashes in New York City, compared to 203 at the same point last year. The death toll has risen for one group – cyclists, with more than twice as many killed this year than last.

As part of our on-going effort to document traffic deaths, WNYC is profiling some of the people who have died in car crashes in 2014. They are drivers, passengers, cyclists and pedestrians, native New Yorkers and new arrivals.

Matthew Brenner was an Air Force veteran studying at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Karol Grzegorczyk, a Manhattan doorman, had just been accepted into business school. After growing up in Nairobi, Anthony Githere studied medicine in Hungary, and hoped to practice in New York. Rosa Anidjar was 82, but danced with friends until 3 am weeks before she died. Fordham Road was always home for Nydja Herring, even during a teenage stint in South Carolina. Jelani Irving, 22, was paying his way through Medgar Evers College driving a taxi. Jean Chambers, a 30-year resident of the Upper West Side, walked her dogs Pickle and Brody in Riverside Park. Jackie Haeflinger was studying to become a life coach. Bonnie Lewin, 65, looked forward to spending more time with her grandchildren after she retired. MTA bus driver William Pena drove the same crosstown route for two decades.

You can read full profiles of Matthew Brenner, Karol Grzegorczyk, Anthony Githere, Rosa Anidjar, Nydja Herring, Jelani Irving, Jean Chambers, Jackie Haeflinger, Bonnie Lewin and William Pena. They'll live in our Mean Streets tracker, along with profiles of ten other people killed in traffic crashes in New York this year.

These people, and the 10 we profiled in July, are just a handful of the traffic deaths this year. We want to tell more of those stories.

If you know someone who has been killed in a traffic crash in 2014, we'd like to hear from you about who they were – their hobbies and hopes, dreams and goals. Call and leave a personal memory at (347) 352-5686, or email transponation@gmail.com.

WNYC has been closely tracking traffic deaths in New York City this year, using reports from the New York Police Department, news reports, and social media posts. We confirm all deaths with the medical examiner or police. We monitor and follow up on crashes that cause critical injury, whenever possible. Public data released by the New York Police Department runs on a six-week lag, and includes only the locations of fatal crashes. It does not provide details on victims, drivers, or the incident.