Nassau “Ignored” a dangerous intersection. Now it could be on the hook for tens of millions.
It was the afternoon of Halloween, and students were walking out of Elmont Memorial High School when two cars across the intersection collided.
One car sped away and slammed head-on into a third. The other car careened onto the sidewalk and hit a group of students walking from school, among them two 10th graders: Natali Cruz and Sidney Garcon Jonathan.
That Oct. 31, 2018 crash left the girls, who were both 15 at the time, with severe, life-long injuries. Earlier this year, a jury found that Nassau County, in addition to the two drivers, was responsible for Cruz’s injuries — leaving the county facing a nearly $70 million jury verdict over the crash.
Jurors decided that Nassau was negligent because it failed to study or make safety improvements to the county-owned road where the crash happened — despite a series of prior crashes and years of warnings. A separate trial involving Garcon Jonathan is scheduled to begin in November, meaning the county could have to pay millions more.
Experts say the case highlights how local governments’ failure to improve roadways can leave taxpayers responsible for tens of millions of dollars in damage and legal bills.
Link in bio on how this raises questions about the effectiveness of Nassau’s roadway improvement program.
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