Wreck Site at Clayton and Big Bend

If it bleeds, it leads. There was a horrible car crash nearby sometime on Friday night. We first heard of it on the Saturday evening news. This morning we walked by the site of the accident. As near as I can tell, the car with three people in it was headed eastbound on Clayton, when it lost control. It struck the southeast corner of the intersection with Big Bend, where a doctor’s building is located. First the walk signal controls were taken out. We have routinely been using those controls to cross Big Bend on our daily walks. Next the vehicle tore up about twenty feet of wrought iron fencing around the doctor’s building parking lot. Then it smashed the control box for the intersection’s traffic lights. The base of which is a massive concrete block. Although recessed from the curbs, it wasn’t far enough setback, because the car, still traveling at a very high rate of speed struck it and instead of halting the vehicle, the concrete block deflected the trajectory of the traveling car, such that the vehicle was launched into the air, over the sunken parking lot at the doctor’s building and was still climbing, when the car impacted into the side of the building. It then fell twenty feet into the parking lot below. Two people in the car were killed and the third was critically injured. Police estimated that the car was traveling at 100 MPH.

On a less tragic note, Dan and Britt test flew their new drone. They went to a drone park near Coney Island. Yes, NYC has a designated drone park. There was a model airplane meet underway when they arrived. As soon as they got there, one of the other modelers came over to them and demanded to see their FAA paperwork. He then photographed it. After this less than friendly welcome, they warmed up a little or at least left them alone. They test flew their new drone, without crashing it and got some footage too. Off to a good start.