4 THE QUEENS COURIER • JULY 5, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
After deadly traffi c incident, Queens residents
petition to regularly retest senior drivers
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
Just one week aft er a fatal collision
in Whitestone that caused the tragic
death of a local teenager, Queens
residents are demanding a change to
the way New York state assesses its
senior drivers.
More than 7,000 residents have
signed onto a petition that calls for
“mandatory retesting every two years
for all drivers age 80 and over.” New
York state currently has an eightyear
renewal program that requires a
vision exam. It does not have specifi c
provisions for older drivers.
Th e call comes in the wake of the
June 25 collision that killed Madeline
Sershen, a 17-year-old who attended
St. Francis Prep in Fresh Meadows.
Sershen was crossing Utopia Parkway
with the walk light in her favor when
she was struck by a 2005 Toyota
Corolla driven by 88-year-old Sheila
Kahn Prager, who police said ignored
a steady red light.
Paramedics rushed Sershen to
NewYork-Presbyterian Queens
hospital, where the teen was pronounced
dead. Prager was issued a
desk appearance ticket charging her
with three crimes, including disobeying
a traffi c control device.
Th e Change.org petition, which
was published on June 30, suggests
that drivers over 80 years of age
undergo a driving test every two
years to determine whether or not
they are still fi t to drive, before they
are issued a new license.
“Simply passing a vision exam is an
extremely low standard for a person
to maintain their privilege to drive,”
the petition reads. “Individuals over
80 must be able to demonstrate that
they can continue to remain safe on
the road.”
Across the country, states have
varying rules for issuing licenses to
older adults. Many states require
seniors drivers to either renew their
license in person, complete a written
test or provide a doctor’s certifi cate
stating they are fi t to drive.
Th e petition, which was already just
short of its 7,500-signature goal on
July 2, will be delivered to Governor
Andrew Cuomo, Mayor Bill de Blasio
and the New York State Legislature.
Julian Ho, the local who started
the petition, said Sershen’s family
reached out to him to voice their
support for the petition. He also
encouraged those who signed to call
Cuomo’s offi ce to urge the leader
to change the state’s driver’s license
renewal procedures.
“My beautiful baby sister’s death
shall not be in vain,” wrote Olivia
Sershen. “Please make the change we
need to see in order to prevent future
tragedies like Madeline’s — which
could have been avoided!!!”
Th e petition is the second community
response to last week’s tragic accident.
In the hours following the incident,
friends of the teenager’s family
launched a fundraiser on GoFundMe
to help ease the burden of funeral
costs. Th e campaign surpassed its
$10,000 goal in less than 24 hours and
has raised $37,194 as of July 2.
Th e Change.org petition can be
accessed by visiting www.change.
org/u/23481950.
Cops catch Whitestone man loading fi reworks into a car
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
A Whitestone man is facing
charges aft er offi cers allegedly discovered
him in the neighborhood fi lling
up a car with illegal fi reworks ahead
of Independence Day.
On June 29, Anthony Castagliola,
20, of Beechhurst was booked on
unlawful possession of fi reworks
aft er members of the 109th Precinct‘s
Anti-Crime Team allegedly observed
the man loading a vehicle parked
at 147th Street and 20th Road with
a large quantity of fi reworks, law
enforcement sources said.
Castagliola was issued a desk
appearance ticket and needs to return
to the 109th Precinct on July 16,
according to the Queens District
Attorney’s offi ce.
In a social media post on the precinct’s
offi cial Facebook page, authorities
encouraged residents to “leave
the fi reworks to the experts.” Offi cers
also encouraged locals who observe
illegal fi reworks in their community
to call 311 and 911 and assured residents
they will be on the lookout for
the pyrotechnics.
According to the NYPD, individuals
using, transporting or selling illegal
fi reworks throughout the city can
be arrested, have their cars confi scated
or their businesses closed. Th e
department off ers up to $1,000 for
information leading to the arrest and
conviction of individuals possessing
or distributing fi reworks.
Confi scated fi reworks are destroyed
in controlled burns at the NYPD
range in the Bronx, according to the
department’s website. Consumer fi reworks
are illegal throughout Queens
County.
Photo via Twitter/@NYPD111Pct
A warning label recently posted on a local mailbox
Mail theft arrest in
Bayside as rash of the
crime continues
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
Local authorities have arrested a Forest Hills man
as crime prevention eff orts continue amid a spate of
mail theft incidents in Bayside.
Frank Akinnuoye, 50, of Yellowstone Boulevard
was arrested on June 27 and charged with petit larceny
and criminal possession of stolen property,
according to law enforcement sources.
Authorities said Akinnuoye was arrested in front of
a residence on 42nd Avenue between Bell Boulevard
and 214th Place aft er he was allegedly seen stealing
from residential mailboxes in the area.
Th e arrest comes during a rash of mail theft s
throughout Bayside and Flushing in recent weeks.
According to the 111th Precinct, checks have been
reported stolen and fraudulently cashed from U.S.
Postal Service (USPS) mailboxes at 188th Street and
48th Avenue, Bell Boulevard and 35th Avenue and in
front of the Flushing and Bayside Post Offi ces.
Most recently, the crime trend has moved east and
south, with checks reported fraudulently cashed aft er
being lift ed from mailboxes at 51-60 Marathon Pkwy.,
the corner of Marathon Parkway and Northern
Boulevard, 250-10 Northern Blvd., the corner of 73rd
Avenue and Springfi eld Boulevard and the intersection
of 64th Avenue and Springfi eld Boulevard,
police said.
During mail fi shing incidents, thieves attach objects
dipped in a sticky substance to fi shing line and drop
them into USPS mailboxes. Envelopes inserted into
the mailbox by local residents then stick to the object
and are easily pulled out by crooks. Th e crime is usually
conducted during nighttime hours.
Perpetrators then use an acetone wash to remove
the ink from the stolen checks in order to alter payee
and monetary value.
Locals are being encouraged to drop off any mail
containing checks, money orders or tax returns inside
of their local post offi ce. Check your account balance
frequently to ensure that there has been no suspicious
activity, police said, and write checks with gel impact
pens, which contain ink that is diffi cult to erase.
Th e USPS, at the request of local lawmakers, recently
began installing security devices on the borough’s
USPS mailboxes to prevent further theft s. Th ese
improvements are making their way toward Bayside,
authorities said.
Authorities from the precinct commended offi cers
on Twitter for arresting Akinnuoye at the scene of the
crime on June 28.
“Great work by sector David NCO, PO Foran, and
Crime Prevention Offi cer Stine for arresting a man
stealing mail from private, residential mailboxes on
214 Place yesterday. #NeighborhoodPolicing,” the
tweet reads.
Photo via Change.org/Julian Ho
A memorial set up at the site of the June 25 collision in Whitestone
Photo via Facebook/NYPD109PCT
Police confi scated these fi reworks in Whitestone last week
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