From: Gary E. Rosenberg, P.C. (Queens Injury Lawyer) Children are getting burned in New York City Parks, due to the intense summer heat. There are reports of two sources of these burns: metal slides and rubberized cushioned ground mats. The metal slides heat up under the sun, and children have been known to splash water down the slides to make them cool enough to use. Possibly scarier are the incidents of barefoot children who burn the bottoms of their feet on the black mats. News reports say that in the hot sun the mats can reach temperatures as high as 165 degrees. Dr. Palmer Bessey, of New York-Presbyterian's burn center, states that the soles of young feet can be burned in about three seconds at 140 degrees. The City's Department of Parks and Recreation notes that all parks have signs warning children and other users to wear shoes, and that parents and caretakers should keep a careful eye on youngsters, who sometimes want to run barefoot. A recent U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission handbook recommended lighter colors for playground surfacing, which would get hot less quickly than the black mats that are currently installed.

From: Gary E. Rosenberg, P.C. (Queens Injury Attorney) Nacirema Brown, age 9, ran into Rockaway Avenue near Glenmore Avenue in Brooklyn, and was hit by a Nissan Maxima that drove away. The accident happened at about 9:00 Saturday night (July 19th). Before taking off, the driver of the car got out and cursed at the little girl. The Nissan was later found abandoned in Brooklyn. Police arrested Jerry Coleman, age 41, of Brooklyn who was charged with leaving the scene of an accident and driving without a license. The child was taken to Brookdale University Hospital where she is in critical condition. Due to her injuries- reportedly a fractured skull and brain bleeding - she has been placed into a medically-induced coma. Doctors give her a 50-50 chance of surviving.

From: New York attorney Gary E. Rosenberg (personal injury and accident attorney and lawyer; serving Brooklyn Queens Bronx) Maxwell Grullon, age 28, of Yonkers, was riding on the running board of his girlfriend's white Jeep, holding on to the roll bar, Saturday night at about 10:30. Apparently the two had an argument. Police report that Grullon and his girlfriend, 36-year-old Lillian Vega, were party-hopping that night, and that he was intoxicated when he died. When the car switched lanes he was thrown to the ground and died from a massive head injury. The Jeep stopped for a short time and then kept driving. Vega claims that as she was slowing down he either jumped or fell. She stopped, and not seeing him on the shoulder and angry from the fighting, she decided to let him walk home, and drove away, claiming that she did not know he was hurt. No criminal charges have been filed.

From: New York attorney Gary E. Rosenberg (personal injury and accident attorney and lawyer; serving Brooklyn Queens Bronx) Marine Sgt. Thomas Neiper, 25, of South Plainfield, NJ, was killed at about 4 A.M. Friday in Staten Island when he lost control of his motorcycle. On leave from Iraq, Sgt. Neiper was riding home to New Jersey from a friend's house, on Arthur Kill Road near the Outerbridge Crossing, when he lost control and slammed into a guardrail. He died from his injuries. He was due to return to Iraq shortly for another tour of duty.

From: New York attorney Gary E. Rosenberg (personal injury and accident attorney and lawyer; serving Brooklyn Queens Bronx) Wednesday afternoon at about 1:45 P.M., Lourdes Fernandez, age 68, was crossing Madison Street in Manhattan, returning from grocery shopping near her lower East Side apartment, when an M22 New York City bus struck and crushed her beneath its rear wheels. The bus drove on as she died from her injuries. According to reports, the driver of the M22 bus did not realize that he had hit Fernandez and drove on, continuing to pick up passengers. Police finally stopped the bus about a mile away, on Chambers St., long after Fernandez had died. The driver was not charged with a crime for this accident.