The death of a 52-year-old Batchelder Street man killed while exiting his car on Shore Boulevard in Manhattan Beach on Monday night has sparked new calls for safer streets.
Brian Waldman was killed between Beaumont and Coleridge streets at about 9 pm on July 12 when a westbound motorist driving a 2008 Chrysler Sebring plowed into him.
Cops said that the driver, 23-year-old Anthony Garcia, initially escaped on foot leaving behind an unidentified female companion, whom cops questioned.
Garcia was apprehended a few hours later and charged with leaving the scene of an accident and driving with a suspended licence.
Cops from the 61st Precinct are investigating the cause of the fatal collision, but they don’t believe Garcia was impaired or speeding when the accident occurred.
Nevertheless, many Manhattan Beach residents are blaming bad drivers for turning their quiet streets deadly.
“Some people drive with a f—k you attitude,” Oriental Boulevard resident Arthur Schwartz said. “This is a serious problem.”
Community Board 15 Chairwoman Theresa Scavo thinks its time for the city and the community to start thinking about installing new speed humps along Manhattan Beach’s two major thoroughfares — Oriental Boulevard and Shore Boulevard.
“They’re open strips of land, so naturally people are going to hit the gas pedal,” she said. “Somebody steps off the curb when they’re not paying attention and they’re dead.”
The Department of Transportation is studying installing speed humps on Oxford Street outside of Kingsborough Community College to slow down students.
Two years ago, Youzdjan Bekir was killed at the intersection of Oriental Boulevard and Irwin Street when his motorcycle collided with an automobile.
More recently, Oriental Boulevard became a demolition derby, hosting four motor vehicle accidents in April. Police said that five people were hospitalized in the spate of accidents, but none of the injuries was considered life threatening.