Calling the intersection a deadly passageway where accidents have…
By Dustin Brown
A woman was killed and her husband critically injured last Thursday when a truck plowed into the side of their car at the intersection of Astoria Boulevard and 35th Street, police said.
Calling the intersection a deadly passageway where accidents have become routine, neighbors demanded public officials do something about speeding traffic along Astoria Boulevard.
A 1995 Nissan was traveling north on 35th Street at about 4:30 p.m. when it was struck on the passenger side by a food services truck headed west on Astoria Boulevard toward the Triborough Bridge, said police spokeswoman Detective Carolyn Chew. Passenger Irene Theocharidis, 62, died in the crash, while her husband Nikitas, 65, who was driving, remained in critical condition at Elmhurst Hospital.
According to the accident report, the truck passed through a red light because the driver was looking at his sideview mirror and failed to notice the traffic signal.
No charges have been filed against the truck driver, Agron Mecani, although three summonses were issued for equipment violations unrelated to the accident. The investigation was continuing, Chew said.
The accident happened as the couple was heading to relatives after Theocharidis picked his wife up from work, said family friend Harriet Giannakopoulos. Irene was planning to then return home to dye eggs for Holy Thursday with her daughter Mary, 37, the oldest of the couple’s three children.
“They were very simple people, and they lived a very simple life,” Giannakopoulos said of the couple. “They didn’t ask for much —they were just great, great people.”
The funeral for Irene Theocharidis was held Tuesday morning. Giannakopoulos said Nikitas is likely to survive, although there is a possibility the crash left him paralyzed from the waist down. He was scheduled to undergo surgery for a spinal injury Tuesday, Elmhurst Hospital spokesman Dario Centorcelli said.
Mecani and his family had no comment on the accident, said Tony Logu, a family friend who answered their phone.
The truck came to rest not far beyond the intersection with one wheel resting on the sidewalk, its front end crushing the passenger door of the Nissan. The car roof sat upturned on top of the vehicle, cut off by rescuers working to reach the victims.
“When they were taking the lady out of the car, the lady had a basket with Easter eggs and a bunny,” said Marcia Kostov, a bystander who arrived shortly after the accident. “It was sad. At that moment, everyone was shocked.”
Kostov estimated that about 150 people gathered at the edge of 35th Street as Irene Theocharidis was removed from the car, most of them drivers who stepped out of their vehicles as traffic idled behind the accident scene.
Many bystanders told stories of friends and relatives who had been killed at the same intersection over the past two decades.
Demi Brountzas, who lives one door down from the intersection, said her cousin’s 26-year-old wife Maria Saroukos was killed in 1984 crossing Astoria Boulevard with her daughter. Another bystander said a friend was killed 10 years ago when his motorcycle was struck by a police car heading north on 35th Avenue.
“It’s really sad to watch people die here,” Brountzas said. “I give the people of Queens Boulevard credit. At least they’ve stuck together.”
Residents of 35th Street said accidents at the intersection were so common they’re accustomed to hearing the sound of tires skidding at dinnertime.
“You always hear the screech first and pray you don’t hear the bang,” said JoAnn Granelli, who lives half a block from the accident site.
Residents say the timing of the traffic lights along the boulevard invites accidents by allowing vehicles to accelerate so rapidly they cannot stop when the traffic signal turns red at 35th Street.
“I started calling community boards and saying, ‘It’s election time, and we’re going to make a stink until then,’” said one resident of 35th Street who asked not to be identified.
Chris Themelis has sent at least three letters to the city Department of Transportation since 1994 providing detailed explanations of the problem at the intersection. Set directly at the corner created by 35th Avenue and Astoria Boulevard, Themelis’ house and property are sometimes hit by vehicles involved in accidents at the site.
When shown copies of DOT’s responses to Themelis’ letters between 1994 and 1998, DOT spokesman Tom Cocola said he was “disgusted” by their inadequacy.
The letters predate the arrival of current DOT Commissioner Iris Weinshall, whose administration will investigate the intersection and directly address Themelis’ concerns, Cocola said.
Representatives of the 114th Precinct said their records do not list the intersection as an accident-prone location.
“People are running red lights,” said Woo Yan, DOT’s deputy director for signals. “Those are enforcement issues — they cannot be controlled by signal change.”
Reach reporter Dustin Brown by e-mail at Timesledgr@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 154.
