Taxi Cab Flips Over On Queens Boulevard

This happened in Forest Hills today, around 11:15 a.m. Not sure on the condition of the drivers or passengers involved....

Summer Drivers, Part 2

For those who may have been away, the end of summer brought with it even worse drivers than we normally see. Here's the after-effects of a car that smashed into the wall of the parking lot above Austin St., raining debris on the sidewalk below. Part 1: the destruction of the Value Depot store on 71st Continental by an out-of-control person who smashed her car into the front of it.

Unbelievable Accident on 71st Continental

It looks like a car smashed overnight right into the front of Value Depot on 71st Continental Ave. I have no idea how an accident like this could possibly occur given the location of this store. Anyway, if anyone knows what exactly happened, comment below or email it to edgeofthecity@gmail.com
Thanks to Dawn,  Angela and Veronica for emailing and tweeting me about it and for their pics!

Updated: Here's an eyewitness account that was emailed to me:

I was actually walking west on the south side of Queens Boulevard when it happened around 1:30 am last night. I was crossing 108th towards Ridgewood Bank when I heard the squealing of tires, and finished crossing/safe on sidewalk when I turned my head towards where Fay Day/that health store on the corner is and saw a sedan/compact? (it was a car, not an SUV or other) out of control taking that turn way too fast. It fishtailed and then went at a weird angle straight into the store front (it sort of looked like it went through the bus shelter but from your pics it doesn't seem like that's the case). I saw an explosion of glass/dust/debris and people screaming. The people waiting for the bus on my side started running towards the accident, I was really freaked out and more than a little tipsy so I decided there was nothing I could do if I went over to see what happened and kept walking home.

I'm disappointed it wasn't on NY1 or any news outlet though. It's hard to tell if there were any injuries or if everyone's OK. It didn't seem like it hit any pedestrians/people on the sidewalk; from my angle it looked like they were closer to QB than where he crashed into the store. Very scary stuff though, I was a little shaken up.
https://twitter.com/feistyfoodie/status/637867198745329664

Yvo
The Feisty Foodie

Crazy Crash in Rego Park

One of those big red casino buses sheared off the corner of an apartment building in Rego Park today! Various reports said several people were injured... Casino Bus Crashes Into Queens Apartment Building

A Busy Easter for Queens Boulevard

As one reader described it, a "horrendous" accident, smack dab in the middle of the busiest intersection in our neighborhood—71st Ave. and Queens Blvd.—early Easter Sunday morning; and then there was the motorcycle gang that swarmed the Boulevard later that day (it was so loud, even I heard it and I'm quite a distance away). Thanks to Amy for sending in the (narrated) video below:

As far as the accident is concerned, by the time Matthew, who reported it to the Blog, came upon the scene, this is what he saw: "Just traffic police left blocking everything off. And two severely damaged vehicles. Car and SUV. On the car whole driver side is gone. I would imagine very serious injuries. Couldn't get any photos and traffic police were quite busy so couldn't get any more info. Position of the cars doesn't lead to any obvious indications of what happened."

Nice way to start off your Easter Sunday, eh? Tragic and so sad that after all these years our public officials are still unable to improve the safety of what I view as the only remaining Big Negative about living in Forest Hills.

But wait! There is some hope after all, as this AM New York story explains: 

Queens Boulevard, the 'Boulevard of Death,' to make room for bicycles, pedestrians

Transportation officials want the "Boulevard of Death" to finally shed its ghastly name.
A protected bicycle lane and more pedestrian space will be added to a 1.3-mile stretch of Queens Boulevard in August as part of a three-year effort to overhaul street life on the highly trafficked corridor.

And the Scene Tonight - Crash 2

Yup, same corner, another horrible crash. I assume they're parking an ambulance near the corner of Ascan and Queens Blvd.? Sorry to be so morbid, but it is a morbid situation and looks like nothing's being done about it? How many more accidents have to happen, and how many more people have to be injured or worse? And by the way, what an incredible nightmare for people, like myself, having to cross Queens Blvd. right after this crash happened this evening, as you can kind of make out by the chaos of the cars going every which way to get around the cars involved and the emergency vehicles...

Crash, Intersection of Ascan and Queens Blvd.

The scene tonight.

Pieces of I guess the other car were as far as the eye can see on Queens Blvd. You can see some of them on the pavement if you look closely (sorry for the blurry pic, but I was a bit distracted literally walking over the debris from the other car as I crossed this evening).

When are these drivers going to learn that this is not a highway?

When is the city going to learn that it needs to do more?

For example, when are we going to get rumble strips put down on these death-trap intersections here in Forest Hills like I've been calling for for years?

I hear they've finally started doing it in other places nearby.

Car Crashes into Santa Fe Steakhouse

Thanks to reader Liran for sending in these photos! I'm told that remarkably no one was hurt.