Two people are dead after a collision at a notoriously dangerous intersection on the border of Marine Park and Mill Basin on May 19.
The carnage unfolded at about 6:40 pm on Monday at the intersection of Flatbush Avenue and Avenue U, when a sedan travelling south on Flatbush Avenue slammed into a sport utility vehicle turning from onto Avenue U from northbound Flatbush, police said. The sedan lost control and hit a light pole, wrapping its front end around the pole and trapping its two passengers inside.
Philbert Martin Williams, 20, and 18-year-old Christina Wipper — both of Flatlands — were later pronounced dead at Coney Island Hospital, according to police.
The driver and a passenger from the sport utility vehicle were taken to Kings County Hospital with minor injuries, police said.
The intersection is a hotbed for traffic accidents, according to city data. In the last 31 months, there have been 166 collisions involving 348 people at Flatbush Avenue and Avenue U, resulting in 34 injuries, according to information from NYC Crashmapper, which compiles NYPD crash data from August 2011 to the present. Monday’s accident was the first fatal incident since late 2011, the data show.
Intense congestion took hold of the junction last weekend after traffic signals malfunctioned for four hours, resulting several minor accidents, according to witnesses.
Councilman Alan Maisel (D–Flatlands) said he was surprised to find so many accidents have occurred there in less than three years.
“That’s a lot of accidents — something needs to be done,” he said, pledging to meet with the Department of Transportation about improving safety at the junction.
Stationing traffic control agents at the intersection might yield the best results, Maisel said, but the city would need to find money for it.
“Having a traffic control agents at peak times makes sense,” he said.
