From: New York attorney Gary E. Rosenberg (personal injury and accident attorney and lawyer; serving Brooklyn Queens Bronx; Queens Injury Lawyer)

Death in Bronx fire

In a tragic twist of fate, a beloved barber afraid of dying in a fire was killed in a raging inferno that ravaged his Bronx apartment building over the weekend.

The charred body of Juan Marte, 46, was found in a stairwell of the five-story building at 131 E. 169th St. in Mount Eden, where the suspicious blaze broke out in the lobby at 10 p.m. Saturday.

Witnesses reported seeing several teenagers lighting pieces of paper before the blaze, sources said.

Marte "had said he never wanted to die in a fire," said Ernesto Batista, 28, a barber at the High Class Barbershop on Grand Concourse near East 170th Street, where Marte worked.

"We [talked] about it after watching a story on the news. He didn't want to be burned."

The fire's flames had forced at least two children to jump from windows to safety.

"I don't understand how [Marte] couldn't get out," said Dinorah Gonzalez, 46, who lived on the fourth floor along with the victim, his wife and two daughters. "I think he was trying to help people get out of the building."

Investigators found several bags of marijuana and grow lamps in the basement, a source said.

The blaze remains under investigation by fire marshals.

Officials say a teen from New York City drowned in the pool of a northeastern Pennsylvania hotel over the weekend.

Lackawanna County Coroner Joseph Brennan tells The Times-Tribune newspaper 15-year-old Jordan Vaughan drowned Saturday evening at the Ramada Inn in Clarks Summit, near Scranton.

Brennan says the teen was transported to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Authorities say a woman has died after the car she was riding in was involved in a four-vehicle crash on a road outside Rochester.

The Monroe County Sheriff's Office says the accident occurred around 2:30 p.m. Sunday on Route 104 in the town of Parma, just northwest of Rochester.

Deputies say a car waiting to make a left turn was rear ended, sending it into oncoming traffic, where it was struck by a truck. Deputies say two other cars went off the road to avoid hitting the other vehicles.

Authorities say a woman from the town of Greece who was riding in the first car was transported to a local hospital and pronounced dead on arrival. The woman's name hasn't been released.

An off-duty NYPD sergeant was killed Sunday morning (November 28, 2010) in a fiery one-car crash on Long Island.

Anthony Johnson, 32, was driving home when he lost control of his Jeep Cherokee on the Southern State Parkway in Valley Stream just west of Rockaway Avenue and smashed into a tree at 3:08 a.m.

Johnson, an eight-year veteran, was assigned to the 114th Precinct in Astoria, Queens.

He was single and lived in West Babylon.

Drag racing is to blame for a horrific crash in Queens that left one man dead and another critically injured this morning (November 29, 2010), police sources said.

A 2003 black Nissan Maxima was traveling westbound in the center lane along North Conduit Avenue near 78th Street in Ozone Park when the driver lost control at a bend in the road around 8 a.m., witnesses said.

The car flipped over onto its roof, skidded along the roadway and jumped the curb, where it smashed into and sheared two telephone poles, leaving the car crumpled, witnesses said.

Police estimate the vehicle was traveling in excess of 90 mph, sources said.

"The car was smoking. All you saw were desperate hands, coming out, waving for help," said Consuelo Aviles, 47, who witnessed the wreck while driving to work.

"The impact was so bad, we tried to help everyone but didn't know where to start. The only thing I was able to do was call 911."

Two men were in the vehicle. The driver was taken to Brookdale Hospital where he was listed in critical condition, sources said.

The male passenger was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

Neighbors said racing is nothing new to the area.

"People want to drive like maniacs. They speed-race here every day. And every year, someone gets killed," said Latoya Medford, 24, who lives nearby.

The name of the dead passenger was being withheld by police pending notification of family.

Two other vehicles involved in the race never stopped, witnesses said.

From: New York attorney Gary E. Rosenberg (personal injury and accident attorney and lawyer; serving Brooklyn Queens Bronx; Brooklyn Injury Attorney)

A 31-year-old man heading to a Queens pizzeria with a pal was mowed down by a teenage hit-and-run driver and then struck again by a second vehicle, police said.

Dominik Winnick is in very critical condition at New York Hospital Queens after twice being slammed into as he crossed 108th Street at 63rd Road in Forest Hills at about 10:30 p.m. on Saturday, November 27, 2010.

"I was bending down to tie my laces. I just heard a car brake," said Winnick's pal, Maciej Zabierek, 30. "Then I looked up, and my friend was in the air.''

Winnick, 31, was first hit by a Nissan Rogue SUV driven by Avraham Mullokandov, 17, southbound on 108th Street, police said. That impact threw him into the lane of traffic traveling in the other direction..

"The car drove over him and kept going," according to Zabierek.

Mullokandov, 17, fled the scene, police said.

Winnick's legs were then run over by a Nissan Maxima sedan traveling northbound on 108th Street, Zabierek said. That (second) motorist remained on the scene and has not been charged.

"I put my hand on his chest. I was telling him not to give up," Zabierek said. "I was just terrified for him."

"He's my only child. He's a very good boy," said a sobbing Alina Winnick, 59, who kept vigil at the hospital yesterday with her husband, Zigmunt, 65.

"Doctors say it's no good. Maybe he has a few days, then he'll die. His brain is completely damaged."

Winnick emigrated from Poland 23 years ago and is a maintenance worker for 1 Beekman Place, a luxury co-op in Manhattan.

About 30 minutes after the crash, Mullokandov returned to the scene and was arrested, police said.

He is charged with vehicular assault, leaving the scene of an accident and violating the terms of his restricted license, police added.

A few hours earlier on Saturday (November 27, 2010), two cars collided at a busy intersection near the Staten Island Expressway, claiming the life of 82-year-old Mary Toppino, of Hunter Avenue, Midland Beach. Mrs. Toppino was pronounced dead at Staten Island University Hospital.

There was no criminality suspected in the 8:40 p.m. crash on Hylan Blvd. at Steuben St., police said. The 82-year-old woman was riding in the back right seat of a Mercedes-Benz that was traveling south on Hylan Blvd.

A Pontiac -- which carried a 60-year-old driver and a 62-year-old passenger -was heading in the opposite direction and tried to make a left turn at the intersection, but crashed into the Mercedes, striking the vehicle's right side, police said.

All others involved in the crash were listed in stable condition this morning, though the male could be seen being extricated from the Mercedes by emergency officials last night and loaded into a stretcher.

Neighbors lamented the perils of a dangerous intersection that has seen more than its share of accidents.

In August, a 21-year-old Fayad Madwa died when she was ejected from her vehicle in a two-car crash. Last year, 25-year-old Brian Guariglia was killed making the same turn when his 2009 Kawasaki sports bike collided with a car at the intersection.

"Every second or third day, there's an accident," said Dani Selmani, a neighbor who was walking his dog past the crash site last night. "It's a design problem. It's ridiculous, Something's got to change."

From: New York attorney Gary E. Rosenberg (personal injury and accident attorney and lawyer; serving Brooklyn Queens Bronx; Brooklyn Accident Lawyer)

A woman was killed today crossing an Upper West Side intersection with groceries in her arms - mowed down by a sports car that tried to flee the scene, witnesses and sources said.

The victim - who wasn't immediately identified - was fatally struck by a white Dodge Charger at about 4 p.m. while crossing West 93rd Street where it crosses Columbus Avenue. Witnesses said the pedestrian wasn't in the crosswalk. The car slammed into the woman, tossing her body into the air in front of horrified onlookers.

Paramedics raced to the scene, but the woman couldn't be saved. The victim was rushed to St. Luke's Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Police haven't released the identities of the 24-year-old driver or the dead woman. The motorist was in custody Friday night. Charges were pending. The Charger's windshield was smashed afer slamming into the pedestrian.

"It was so loud that I heard it from my window. I heard the thud," said H.A. Rigney, who lives in a building near the tragic accident scene. "She was thrown 20 feet from the crosswalk. Her feet were bare."

"She was laying there like a ragdoll," Rigney added. "All of her groceries were all over the street and her shoes were knocked off."

"The car was going really fast down 93rd St., much faster than normal," said Lisette Gomez, 30, who saw the crash as she stood behind the counter of a nearby dry cleaner. "The car hit the lady and she flew up in the air as high as a streetlight. Then she landed between two cars."

Christopher Farmer, 33, was shaken.

"It's definitely a sobering thing to see," Farmer said.

Bystanders crowded around the injured woman as she lay in the street.

The driver continued on for about a block before stopping at Columbus and Amsterdam Avenue after a good Samaritan in a green Jets jacket ran after her and yelled for her to stop, witnesses added. "The guy [in the Jets jacket] told me that the lady was probably dead and asked me to call 911. He was really upset," said a doorman who works nearby.

"It was my light. It was my light," the driver sobbed on a cell phone video shot by another witness.

From: New York attorney Gary E. Rosenberg (personal injury and accident attorney and lawyer; serving Brooklyn Queens Bronx; Brooklyn Injury Lawyer)

In November 2008, in Bombay (now called Mumbai), India, some 195 people were murdered and 300 wounded. From November 26^th until November 29^th, Islamic terrorists from Pakistan attacked several sites in Mumbai sites, including luxury hotels, a hospital, a train station and a popular café. Indian police managed to eventually kill the attackers, except for Ajmal Kasab, the only attacker who was captured alive.

He disclosed that the attackers were members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, the Pakistan-based militant organization, considered a terrorist organization by India, Pakistan, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the United Nations. The Indian government said that the attackers came from Pakistan, and that their controllers were in Pakistan. On May 6, 2010 an Indian trial court sentenced Ajmal Kasab to death on five counts.

NOW: Relatives of two New Yorkers murdered in a Hasidic center during the 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai, India, have sued Pakistan's intelligence agency and the Kashmir-based terror organization that was reportedly behind the operation.

Gavriel Noah Holtzberg, a rabbi originally from Brooklyn, and his pregnant wife, Rivka, were gunned down when terrorists stormed the Chabad Lubavitch center in a commando-style attack that also killed the couple's unborn child.

The Holtzberg's 2 year-old son survived the attack after being rescued by his nanny, who moved to Israel to care for him with his grandparents. He now lives with his grandfather in Israel, who filed the suit in Brooklyn federal court.

The lawsuit names Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI), several ranking ISI officials, and Lashkar-E-Taiba, a terror group that operates in Kashmir, the disputed territory over which both Pakistan and India claim sovereignty.

The claim is largely based on the involvement of Pakistan national David Headley who has pleaded guilty to plotting the attacks with Lashkar-e-Taiba.

Headley, a former federal drug informant from Chicago, held fundraising events in New York City while he was coordinating with the terror group and the ISI in planning the attack, the suit says.

The wrongful death suit asks for unspecified damages and cites claims that the ISI has worked closely with the Lashkar-E-Taiba group.

Comment: The suit may not be politically popular, since Pakistan is an ally of the U.S. in the war in Afghanistan and our efforts to fight Al Qaeda. It is believed that ISI plays both sides aganist the middle, aiding the U.S., but also providing support to Al Qaeda-many believe that the ISI looks the other way so that Al-Qaeda can operate in Western Pakistan. Also, the U.S. Government can interfere with the siut if it believes that it jeopardizes American interests. So if the suit will go forward and whther Pakistan will defend remain to be seen.

From: New York attorney Gary E. Rosenberg (personal injury and accident attorney and lawyer; serving Brooklyn Queens Bronx; Queens Accident Attorney)

A day after hosting a joyous 7th birthday party for his daughter, a veteran New York City cop was killed by a wrong-way drunk driver in a horrific pre-dawn crash, authorities said today.

Officer Andre Menzies was on his way home from work was killed Monday, November 15, 2010 at 4:00 AM when his car was slammed by a boozed-up Brooklyn man driving the wrong way, authorities said.

Officer Menzies - a father of five - was driving east on the Northern State Parkway in Dix ills, L.I., about 12:05 a.m. when he was hit head-on by Michael Bowen's Ford van.

Bowen, 50, of Brownsville, had a blood-alcohol level of 0.25 - more than three times the legal limit, authorities said. He suffered only minor injuries. According to prosecutors, Bowen smelled of alcohol on his breath and was unsteady on his feet. They said he admitted to police that he had two glasses of brandy before setting off from Brooklyn to Mount Vernon.

Investigators believe Menzies, age 35, a nine-year veteran assigned to the Queens Housing Bureau, died on impact.

He lived in North Babylon, L.I., with his wife, Natacha, and their two children - ages 9 and 7. He also left behind three daughters - ages 12, 14 and 15 - he had with his first wife, who died a dozen years ago.

"I lost my mom and my dad," said Andrea Menzies, 15. "He was all I had left."

Andrea described her father as "just a regular dad" and recalled how he would always take her shopping. Her sister, Melissa, 14, remembered how her father, a former college basketball player, taught her the game.

"We're just in shock. Nobody can believe it," said Menzies' father, Robert Menzies, 58, who is raising the three older children.

Bowen was arrested for driving while intoxicated and reckless driving, authorities said. The deadly crash occurred just east of the Wolf Hill Road exit. State troopers got a report of a wrong-way driver on the parkway, but didn't find Bowen in time, said Tom Magno, assistant chief of the Dix Hills Volunteer Fire Department.

Bowen was arraigned in Suffolk County district court. He pleaded not guilty and was ordered held on $350,000 cash bail and $500,000 bond. He is being held at Riverhead Correctional Facility. He also was ordered to surrender his passport. Police Commissioner Ray Kelly offered condolences from the NYPD, noting that Menzies' "young children are left without a father as a result of this senseless accident."

NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly expressed his condolences. "His young children are left without a father as a result of a senseless accident," Kelly said.

Menzies had a civil suit pending against the NYPD in federal court, claiming the department harassed him and hampered his efforts to get promoted to sergeant after unsubstantiated insurance fraud accusations against him. The NYPD did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The widow's sister, Margaret Ford, said the family at first didn't tell Menzies' only son, Joshua, 9, his dad had died. "'Do you think my dad would be able to come to my basketball game tomorrow?'" the boy asked, Ford said.

NEW YORK CITY MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG ISSUED A PRESS RELEASE:
STATEMENT OF MAYOR MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG ON THE DEATH OF POLICE OFFICER ANDRE MENZIES, STRUCK BY A DRUNK DRIVER DRIVING THE WRONG WAY ON A DIVIDED HIGHWAY

The following are the remarks of the Mayor as delivered today in the City Hall Blue Room:

"Good afternoon. Before we talk about why we're here - the announcement of the day - let me just say that it is my sad duty to report the death of a New York City police officer who was killed this morning when a drunk driver struck his car head-on. Coming on the heels of an accident on Saturday night that critically injured a teenage girl on City Island, which also involved an apparently intoxicated driver; this is just another tragic reminder of the deadly danger of drunk driving. So make no mistake about it, we are determined to stop drunk driving now - before the holiday season gets into full swing. We don't want any more of this kind of carnage that we saw this weekend.

"The specifics are that this morning around 12:05 a.m., Police Officer Andre Menzies, 35-years-old, who was off-duty at the time, was driving east on the Northern State Parkway. His car was struck head-on by a vehicle traveling in the wrong direction on a divided highway. Officer Menzies, a nine-year veteran of the NYPD, died at the accident scene. The driver of the car that hit Officer Menzies' vehicle, a 50-year-old Brooklyn man, was given a sobriety test by the Suffolk County officers. He failed it, and was arrested.

"Officer Menzies was assigned to duty in public housing in Queens and he had gone off duty at 11:30 p.m. Sunday. He leaves a wife, Natasha; they have a son and daughter, ages nine and seven. As I mentioned earlier, on Saturday night, Emily Sexton, 17-years-old, was struck by an out-of-control pickup truck that left the roadway and pinned her to the door of an apartment building at a bus stop near her home on City Island. The driver of the pickup was arrested at the scene. Emily was taken to Jacobi Medical Center; thankfully, she's expected to survive, but she sustained many injuries and is still in critical condition.

"The bottom line is we are not going to let drunk drivers inflict more death and suffering. And as we get into the holiday season, I know everybody wants to enjoy themselves, but you're not going to enjoy what happens to you if you take somebody's life or cause injury to somebody. You just have to think a little bit before you start driving. If you're going to drive, don't drink. If you're going to drink, don't drive. There are plenty of ways that you can get a ride home. Nothing is as important - no reason you have to get home is important enough to put somebody else's life in danger."

From: New York attorney Gary E. Rosenberg (personal injury and accident attorney and lawyer; serving Brooklyn Queens Bronx; Brooklyn Accident Lawyer)

On Saturday November 13, 2010 a possibly drunk driver struck a college-bound teenager with his pickup truck on a City Island sidewalk, leaving the girl critically injured, police said.

Driver Peter Wolfman, 40, of Florida hastily hung a U-turn in his Ford F-150 at 10:45 p.m. on the island's main drag, jumping the sidewalk and pinning Preston High School senior Emily Sexton, 17, against a coffee shop as her boyfriend and another pal looked on in horror, said police sources and the victim's relatives.

Her pals were able to dodge the out-of-control Ford, but Sexton - who was born in South Korea and was adopted when she was a year old - didn't stand a chance.

Sexton crumbled to the sidewalk. She was rushed to Jacobi Medical Center with two broken legs, a shattered pelvis, and internal damage to her lungs, liver and spleen, sources said.

Friends dashed off to find Sexton's parents, who were enjoying a local play nearby, and her brother, who was hanging out with pals a short distance from the awful crash.

"I ran up to her and thought she was dead," said the shattered brother, Greg Sexton, 15. "It was very scary."

He choked back tears when he recalled looking at his sister lying on the ground.

"I couldn't do anything to help," Sexton sobbed. "That was the worst part. That made me feel bad."

Wolfman was spotted by neighbors stumbling out of a City Island bar moments before the crash. He had left to get his truck when the accident occurred, sources said.

Police sources said he appeared to be intoxicated when cops arrived at the scene. He refused a Breathlyzer test, but police were seeking a warrant to draw his blood, sources added.

Wolfson has been charged with operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol.

Witnesses said he rocketed down the street.

"He made a dramatic U-turn like a guy trying to look cool, and then I heard him slam into the side of the building and saw that he hit Emily," said one of Sexton's friends, Ciernan Shanley, 15, who was near the scene at the time.

"As the truck was approaching, she froze in place like she was too scared to move," the eyewitness said.

After the crash, Wolfman stumbled out of his white truck and collapsed to the ground, witnesses said.

He was also taken to Jacobi Hospital, where he was treated for leg fractures, sources said. Wolfman has a history of arrests in Florida, ranging from attacking a cop, for which he did two years in prison, to cocaine possession.

Sexton remains in critical but stable condition, sources said.

From: New York attorney Gary E. Rosenberg (personal injury and accident attorney and lawyer; serving Brooklyn Queens Bronx; Queens Injury Attorney)

On November 14, 2010 Anthony Grays, age 39, of Fresh Meadows, Queens, New York, lost control of his car after a dispute with his passenger, blasted through a fence and struck and injured two children in the front yard of their Queens home about 5 p.m., sending 4-year-old Aicha Sylla girl to a hospital in critical condition, the police said.

Aicha was trapped between the black 1998 Mercury Sable and a concrete wall. One neighbor ran to her aid and held up her limp body as another pressed a foot against the bumper to push the vehicle off her.

Her brother, 11-year-old Tydian, was in stable condition at Long Island Jewish Medical Center after the accident at 160th Street and North Conduit Avenue. He was trapped underneath the car but managed to roll out.

"It was horrible. The little girl was pinned between the bumper and the house," said eyewitness Whitney Scottborgh, age 43, who lives across the street from the house on 160th Street and North Conduit Boulevard in Springfield Gardens.

The accident occurred at 4:50 p.m., said Scottborgh, adding that the children's mom "came running out . . . crying."

"You only heard screams," Scottborgh said.

A Breathalyzer test showed that Grays had been drinking, and "he did confirm there was an argument that distracted him," a police source said.

The children's father angrily charged at Grays in front of the house, Scottborgh said. But the neighbor told him, "You don't want to do that," and he reluctantly backed off.

Though the police said that there was no criminality suspected in the accident, the driver,

remained at the scene after the accident and was arrested on unrelated charges of criminal contempt of an order of protection. The woman in the car with him had taken out the order against Mr. Grays, the police said.

The police had no details about the nature of the dispute between Mr. Grays and the woman in the car. The accident is still being investigated.

Comment: So, it seems the passenger had an order of protection against Grays, which he violated by having her in the car. No word yet as to why the passenger got into the car with Grays if she had an order of protection against him. Not surprising that they argued, but tragic that two children were accident victims here.

From: New York attorney Gary E. Rosenberg (personal injury and accident attorney and lawyer; serving Brooklyn Queens Bronx; Brooklyn Accident Attorney)

On Friday, November 12, 2010 an inferno in a Park Slope, Brooklyn, building gutted a supermarket and left scores of people homeless.

The massive three-alarm blaze broke out inside a building on Fifth Avenue near 17th Street about 12:15 a.m. today and quickly spread throughout the three story structure, tearing through the Associated Supermarket, in the ground floor and gutting 10 residential apartments above, said officials.

The blaze also spread to a neighboring hair salon, decimating that business, said fire officials.

It took 150 firefighters to douse the blaze, which was still burning at 4:30 p.m, officials said.

Eight firefighters suffered minor injuries. No civilians were injured. The cause of the blaze is being investigated by New York Fire Department Fire Marshalls.

On Saturday, November 13th 2010, a Bronx woman died after being trapped in her basement apartment by a fast-moving fire early in the morning.

Johanna Parliament, age 60, was rushed to Jacobi Hospital, where she was pronounced dead, police said.

It took 105 firefighters from 25 units nearly two hours to bring the two-alarm blaze under control.

She lived in the basement apartment of the house on Gifford Ave. in Throggs Neck, Bronx, with her daughter, who suffered minor injuries. Another family that shares the apartment was away for the weekend, neighbors said.

"I heard the daughter yelling out my name," said Noel Medina, 46, who lives next door. "She kept screaming her mother was trapped inside. I ran out to try and help her. I broke one of the windows with a flashlight but the whole place was engulfed in smoke and flames."

"We had to hold her daughter back from trying to go back in to get her," Medina added.

Parliament was well-liked on the block, neighbors said.

"That woman was golden," Medina said of the victim. "She was so kind, and would give me coffee every morning."

"The flames were enormous," said neighbor Rosa Menendez, 58. "The entire block was covered in smoke."

From: New York attorney Gary E. Rosenberg (personal injury and accident attorney and lawyer; serving Brooklyn Queens Bronx; Queens Accident Lawyer)

STUDENT FALLS TO HIS DEATH IN BROOKLYN

A Brooklyn College student fell to his death from his dorm room inside the St. George Hotel in Brooklyn Heights early on Sunday, November 7, 2010 -- and cops are investigating whether the man took psychedelic mushrooms before the plunge.

Cops said that 19-year-old Michael Simmons fell from the eighth-story window of the building on Henry Street near Clark Street at about 2 am.

Rob Cordova, who lives in the building, said he was parking across the street when Simmons fell.

"I heard a loud bang ... I saw him lying there -- people were screaming and crying and running out to see," Cordova said. "The cops roped off the body and put a sheet over him. People were also taking pictures. It made me sick."

A memorial of flowers and notes was set up on Monday near the spot where Simmons landed on Henry Street. Students filtered in and out of the dormitory, some crying and holding one another. A note on the memorial read, "Mike -- Gone but definitely not forgotten."

The medical examiner -- who hasn't returned calls by press time -- is performing an autopsy to determine whether the death is a suicide and confirm a Daily News report that Simmons ate "magic mushrooms" earlier that night.

The Arizona native was studying dramatic arts at the college. Friends told the News that a group of students had taken the drug and split up just before the fall.

A family friend in Simmons's native Tempe, Ariz., said that Simmons is survived by his parents and two sisters, 20 and 9 years old.

"He was a good kid -- my daughters played with him all the time and he was happy," said Harry O'Neill, Simmons's neighbor for 16 years, through tears. "He had only been in New York and away from his family for a few months. He was really the nicest and most outgoing kid."

CAR FLIPS OVER IN QUEENS - NO INJURIES

On Sunday, November 7, 2010 an unidentified woman was trying to make a U-turn and ended up upside down. She was briefly trapped in her black SUV yesterday after a car smashed into her on Jamaica Avenue in Queens, flipping her vehicle, police said.

But by the time cops arrived at the scene on the corner of Woodhaven Boulevard shortly before 4 p.m., the SUV driver had already been helped out of the vehicle, authorities said. Amazingly, neither driver was seriously injured, police said.

Both were taken to the hospital and were in stable condition.

A passenger in the SUV was also treated at the scene.

According to one witness, the SUV driver, whom police did not identify, was attempting to make the U-turn when the second car blew through a light.

Police said no charges would be filed or summonses issued.

From: New York attorney Gary E. Rosenberg (personal injury and accident attorney and lawyer; serving Brooklyn Queens Bronx; Queens Injury Lawyer)

What if there was a way to feel intoxicated and wide-awake at the same time? What if a drinker could party until dawn without feeling the fatigue brought on by alcohol consumption? Would this be enticing for young drinkers? Would this help perpetuate the belief that they are ten feet tall and bulletproof? That is the expectation many drinkers have from mixing alcohol with the 250 or more energy drink brands currently sold and consumed in the United States.

The potential danger associated with the consumption of energy drinks has been widely reported in the popular press and in scientific papers in recent years. The contention held by some scientists is that the ingredients in these drinks, including Taurine and other stimulants, can be hazardous. These risks, as significant as they seem to be, may actually pale in comparison to the physical and emotional risks posed by mixing energy drinks with alcohol. Mixing energy drinks with alcohol has become a popular and common occurrence. Drinkers of alcohol mixed with energy drinks report that they feel more alert, more coordinated, and generally more sober than other drinkers do. However, nothing could be further from the truth.

Young drinkers use energy drinks in two different ways. Some drinkers preload with energy drinks alone, consuming three, four, or even five energy drinks before their night of partying. Their intent in doing so is to stave off the fatigue and other depressive effects of the alcohol they will consume later. These drinkers believe they can party longer by amping up their system. Other drinkers use energy drinks as an alcohol mixer in the traditional sense hoping that the ingestion of caffeine and other stimulants along with alcohol will reduce or reverse the depressant effects of the alcohol as they drink.

Whether a drinker pre-loads for the evening by drinking a large number of energy drinks or consumes energy drinks through the night, physicians have warned of the potential health complications of mixing caffeine with alcohol in anticipation of reducing the depressant effects of alcohol and allowing them to party longer. When mixed together, these beverages are commonly referred to as "Vodka Bulls," "Red Bombs," "Jager Bombs," and other similar names. The popular press reports that 90% ninety percent of young adult drinkers under age twenty-five consume energy drinks. More that 25% combine alcohol with energy drinks and approximately 78% had consumed energy drinks with alcohol in the past month. Energy drinks can contain 150% to 300% of the amount of caffeine content the FDA allows for cola beverages. University of Southern California School of Pharmacy's Roger A. Clemnents explains to ABC News that cardiovascular risk, impaired judgment, shortness of breath, dizziness, disorientation, and rapid heart rate are major concerns of energy drink consumption at this level.

Most consumers do not realize the level of stimulants found in energy drinks. For example, a 16-ounce serving of Rock-star contains 150 mg of caffeine, a 16-ounce serving of Full Throttle contains 144 mg of caffeine, and a 16-ounce serving of Red Bull contains 160 mg of caffeine. By comparison, a 12 oz can of Coke, a common alcohol mixer, contains 34 mg of caffeine. Others mixers such as Sprite have 0 mg of caffeine. The American Dietetic Association considers 200 -- 300 mg of caffeine a day to be a moderate amount. The FDA has only approved the use of caffeine in beverages that do not exceed 200 parts per million, a level much lower than that contained by energy drinks.

Clinical studies have found that the consumption of caffeine, a central nervous system stimulant and major ingredient in energy drinks, and alcohol, a depressant, reduces one's ability to accurately assess one's own intoxication levels and reduces objective self-measures of impairment. As a result, energy beverage and alcohol mixed drink consumers underestimate their intoxication level. This consistent underestimation may increase the potential for alcohol-related harm such as alcohol poising, intoxication, physical injury, impaired driving, and sexual victimization. One college study found that in comparison to students who consumed only alcohol, students who consumed energy drinks mixed with alcohol experienced a higher prevalence of alcohol-related consequences including being taken advantage of sexually, taking sexual advantage of another, riding with a driver who was under the influence of alcohol, being hurt or injured, and requiring medical treatment. Research conducted at Wake Forrest University Baptist Medical Center in North Carolina found that compared to those who did not mix alcohol with energy drinks, energy-drink/ alcohol drinkers were twice as likely to take sexual advantage of someone and had double the risk of being taken advantage of sexually.

The tendency to drink more, drink longer, and have higher BAC levels associated with the consumption of energy drinks mixed with alcohol is even more alarming. A recent study conducted by researchers at the University of Florida found that patrons consuming alcohol mixed with energy drinks were three times more likely to have a BAC greater than 0.08% than other drinkers. The study discovered that drinkers of energy drinks mixed with alcohol engaged in drinking for a longer period of time, they consumed more total drinks, and had higher levels of alcohol intoxication than other drinkers had. Clearly, the expectation to feel intoxicated and wide-awake at the same time and to be able to party until dawn without feeling the fatigue brought on by alcohol consumption is being realized by these drinkers through a combination of energy drinks mixed with alcohol.

Consumption of alcohol mixed with energy drinks has significant implications for impaired driving and impaired driving deaths. The University of Florida study found that bar patrons who reported consuming energy drinks mixed with alcohol were over four times more likely to report an intention to drive after drinking. Consuming energy drinks mixed with alcohol may reduce perceptions of alcohol impairment, and thus, increase one's confidence in operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol. The findings corroborate previous studies that suggest that combining the stimulant effect of energy drinks with alcohol may lead drinkers to underestimate their levels of intoxication and consume larger quantities of alcohol. Reports from Ireland and Germany have also implicated these beverages in assaults and automobile accidents further suggesting that the combination of stimulants and alcohol impairs the ability to correctly assess one's level of intoxication, one's ability to drive, and one's ability to make rational and safe decisions more significantly than alcohol intoxication alone.

The implication of this is finding is staggering. The United States has an epidemic of impaired driving with at least 50% of impaired drivers and drivers involved in alcohol-related crashes coming directly from a bar or restaurant where they were over-served alcoholic beverages. Now, with the advent and popularity of alcoholic beverages mixed with energy drinks, even more impaired drivers may now be on the roadways. Additionally, drinkers who previously arranged for a designated driver may not do so now because they anticipate that they will be less intoxicated by consuming energy drinks.

Evidence is also beginning to emerge that drinkers who consume the energy drinks mixed with alcohol may not exhibit the same behaviors associated with intoxication as drinkers who consume alcoholic beverages other than mixed energy drinks. This presents a significant risk to public safety. Police officers may not be able to observe the same behavioral clues necessary to affect impaired driving arrests. Bartenders may not be able to determine when the drinker of energy drinks mixed with alcohol should not be served additional alcohol without the use of effective alcohol service monitoring practices such as drink counting and patron assessment techniques.

The United States is not the only country that has felt the impact of co-use of alcohol and energy drinks. France, Turkey, Denmark, Norway, Uruguay, and Iceland banned high-caffeine/taurine energy drinks altogether. Sweden banned mixing energy drinks with alcohol.

The United States must take steps to reduce the risks posed by combining alcoholic beverages with energy drinks. It is important for bartenders, parents, and young adult drinkers to understand the effects of alcohol mixed with energy drinks. Bartenders must be trained to understand both the change in decision making and differences in observable behaviors associated with drinkers consuming energy drinks and alcohol.

Bartenders and servers must utilize drink counting based on a patron's gender, weight, body type, amount of alcohol consumed and elapsed time to ensure that patrons are not over-served regardless of their apparent intoxication level brought on by the co-use of energy drinks and alcohol. Parents and friends must make the drinkers aware of the risks associated with mixing alcohol with energy drinks. Consumers of energy drinks and alcohol need to alter their drinking behaviors so not to put themselves or others they may harm at risk. Drinkers must understand their own tendency to underestimate their intoxication level, to overestimate their ability to safely operate a motor vehicle, to understand that their ability to make crucial and safe decisions about such things as sexual activity is impaired, and to understand that consuming energy drinks with alcohol leads to greater alcohol consumption and impairment, even though they may not feel as impaired.

Finally, State and Federal lawmakers should examine the risks associated with the consumption of energy drinks with alcohol and determine if legislative action is necessary to protect young drinkers and persons they may harm. Legislative review may support the need for citizen, consumer, and parent education; bartender and beverage licensee training; and consideration of limiting the use and/or sale of energy drinks, especially those mixed with alcohol.

CPSC Also Recommends Consumers Test Their Homes' Electrical Safety Equipment

CPSC is sponsoring a nationwide carbon monoxide poster contest to increase awareness about the dangers of CO in the home. The poster contest is open to all middle school students in grades 6, 7 and 8 through December 31. Each of nine finalists will receive $250 in prize money. The grand prize winner will be awarded an additional $500. More information about the contest is available at www.challenge.gov/cpsc. Encourage your middle school student to participate.

From: New York attorney Gary E. Rosenberg (personal injury and accident attorney and lawyer; serving Brooklyn Queens Bronx; Brooklyn Injury Attorney)

On Monday November 1, 2010 a BMW S.U.V. mowed down 13 year-old Sarah Parris of Brooklyn, who wanted to become a nurse, as she and two friends crossed Rockaway Parkway in the middle of the block near Avenue J when she was hit by a white BMW at around 7:50 a.m., police said.

The BMW went on to hit a parked Nissan.

The high school student was thrown into the air. She was taken to Brookdale Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

"I just saw her laying on the street and blood," said a sobbing Akili Charles, 14, one of the two friends with Sarah, who described her friend as "cool with everybody."

"If you're sad or something, she'd come and talk to you," Akili said.

The distraught pal said a passing school-bus driver had spotted the girls trying to cross the street, and put out its stop sign to help them make it safely to the other side, but the BMW "kept going."

The car's driver, Mohamed Diakite, 35, of Philadelphia, has not been charged, sources said.

Police said there was no evidence of criminality.

Sarah lived with her mother, Brenda Parris, and brother, David Clarke, 22.

The teen's grieving mom, surrounded by family members at her sister's home, said, "I think I'm in a dream. I keep thinking they'll call and tell me my daughter is OK and she's going to wake up."

She said her only daughter was to turn 14 next month and they were planning a special trip to Pennsylvania.

Clarke said his little sister "was a beautiful person, always smiling, and she didn't let anyone bring her down."

The teen loved the Twilight saga and adored the late Michael Jackson, and "every night she'd sing all his songs," he said.

She was very bright, very energetic and a prankster "whose weapon of choice was a stink bomb," her brother said.

City Councilman Charles Barron, who met with family members, said Sarah's relatives are "hoping that something positive can come out of this."

"Maybe speed bumps in front of every school to slow drivers down and hopefully send a message if you come near a school, slow down, no matter what the situation is," he said.

"There's her blood and sneaker and a paper in the street."