By Dustin Brown
A Maspeth man was killed by an oncoming car early Saturday after trying to cross Queens Boulevard against the traffic light, police said, making him the year’s first fatality along the notoriously dangerous roadway.
Wladyslaw Zrodlo, 51, of 59-97 58th Ave., was crossing the boulevard northbound at 61st Street in Woodside around 3:12 a.m. when a Mercedes Benz heading east struck him down, police said.
The driver of the car, 31-year-old Ruben Samuel of Rego Park, immediately stopped at the scene. An ambulance rushed Zrodlo to Elmhurst Hospital Center, where he was pronounced dead, police said.
Zrodlo had apparently been crossing the street against the traffic signal, Samuel and a bystander told police. Samuel did not face criminal charges in connection with the accident, police said.
Queens Boulevard drew headlines over the past two years for having an alarmingly high rate of pedestrian fatalities, totaling 72 between 1993 and 2000. The worst year was 1997 at 18 deaths, followed closely by 1993 when 17 pedestrians were killed on Queens Boulevard. An average of six pedestrians have been killed every other year between 1993 and 2001. Four died last year.
But Zrodlo’s death marks the first fatality along the infamous boulevard this year, putting 2002 on track to have the lowest rate in at least a decade. The last fatality occurred on Dec. 19, 2001.
The city Department of Transportation instituted numerous safety measures to prevent pedestrian accidents over the course of 2001: installing fencing along the medians to prevent mid-street crosses and mounting 400 signs instructing pedestrians to be careful. Between 65th and 83rd avenues, the service roads were equipped with parking meters on both sides to reduce the lanes of traffic and discourage drivers from speeding. The length of time allotted for pedestrians to cross the roadway was also increased on many cross signals during peak hours.
But most of the improvements have been concentrated along the central stretch of the boulevard in Elmhurst, Rego Park and Forest Hills, where the majority of fatalities have occurred.
Although the 63rd Street intersection is west of that core section, a pedestrian warning sign was hanging near the intersection where Zrodlo was struck.
DOT spokesman Tom Cocola extended the city’s sympathies to Zrodlo’s family while stressing the importance of exercising care both on foot and behind the wheel.
“It is a reminder to everyone that Queens Boulevard remains a dangerous road, one in which pedestrians and motorists must always use extreme caution, no matter what time they’re crossing it,” Cocola said.
Cocola attributed the drastic improvement in safety along Queens Boulevard to the DOT’s traffic engineering, the Police Department’s enforcement efforts and educating drivers and pedestrians to be more cautious.
Reach reporter Dustin Brown by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 154.
