Short summary: Five people went to the hospital after a lane change went wrong on the Cross Island Parkway. Four of them were passengers. Passengers are generally the only people in a crash who cannot be assigned any share of the blame, and that often means more than one insurance policy is available to them.
A Saturday night crash in Whitestone shows why the seat you were sitting in matters more than most people realize.
What happened
Around 9:15 p.m. on September 5, a 19-year-old driving a 2020 Toyota Camry northbound on the Cross Island Parkway near 154th Street tried to move from the left lane into the middle lane, police sources said. The Camry struck the rear of a 2008 Honda Accord and overturned.
Five people were taken to hospitals. A 19-year-old passenger in the Camry was in critical condition. A 16-year-old passenger was in stable condition. The 19-year-old driver and an 18-year-old passenger were also stable, as was the 42-year-old driver of the Accord. A 36-year-old passenger in the Accord refused medical attention at the scene. Two of the Camry passengers were thrown onto the pavement, as reported by amNewYork.
No charges had been filed as of the report, and the investigation is continuing.
Why passengers sit in a different position
In almost every crash, the insurance companies spend their energy arguing about which driver did what. Passengers sit outside that argument. They did not choose the lane, the speed, or the moment.
That generally matters in two ways. First, comparative fault, the rule that reduces a recovery when the injured person shares blame, usually has nothing to attach to. Second, a passenger is generally not limited to one driver's policy. If two vehicles were involved and either driver was partly at fault, both policies are generally in play.
The clock that starts before anyone is charged
No charges were filed here, and the investigation is open. None of that pauses the insurance deadlines.
New York no-fault benefits, which pay medical bills and lost wages regardless of who caused the crash, generally require an application within 30 days of the crash. We walk through that in our 30-day no-fault deadline guide. Families waiting for a police finding routinely miss it.
What passengers should do first
Get the police report number. Write down which vehicle you were in and where you were sitting, because insurers ask later and memories blur. Keep every hospital discharge paper. And do not assume that being a friend of the driver means you have to absorb your own medical bills, because that is what the driver's insurance exists for. Our 10-step checklist covers the rest, and our Queens crash guide covers the local details.
Questions New Yorkers ask us
Can a passenger make a claim against the driver who was giving them a ride?
Generally yes. The claim runs against the insurance policy, not against the person, and that is true even when the driver is a friend or a family member. It is uncomfortable for a lot of people, and it is also how the coverage was designed to work.
What if nobody is ever charged with anything?
Generally, charges are not required. A criminal case asks whether the state can prove a crime. An injury claim asks whether someone was careless and whether that carelessness caused harm, which is a different and lower bar.
Not sure where you stand after a crash? Get your free case review or call (888) 208-0529. A real person answers, 24/7.
Reporting: amNewYork.
