GARDEN CITY, NY (December 20, 2021) With more than 100 million Americans ready to hit the road for the busy year-end holiday travel period, a local hospital has seen a significant increase in the number of trauma cases resulting from vehicle crashes, reflecting an unfortunate trend seen across the nation.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s estimates for the first half of 2021, showed 20,160 people died in motor vehicle crashes nationwide, up more than 18 percent from 2020. And the pandemic year of 2020, with much less driving due to lockdowns, saw a seven percent fatality increase from the last ‘normal’ year of 2019. “There has been a significant increase in bad driving during the pandemic,” said Robert Sinclair, Jr. of AAA Northeast. “Less traffic during lockdowns led to speeding, impaired driving, and distracted driving, with seatbelt use abandoned by many, which has, unfortunately, continued despite more cars on the road, and the busiest holiday travel period on the horizon,” Sinclair added.
Long Island data from 2011 to 2020, and preliminary data for this year, show that unsafe speed is the primary cause of fatal crashes, with 41 losing their lives so far in 2021 in Nassau and Suffolk counties.
NYU Langone Hospital in Mineola, Long Island’s Level 1 Trauma Center, has seen the aftermath of some these crashes, treating an unprecedented increase in trauma-related injuries from car crashes over the last few months. “We urge drivers to proceed with caution over the holidays when the risks of motor vehicle crashes rise exponentially,” said D’Andrea Joseph, MD, chief of Trauma and Acute Critical Care at NYU Langone Hospital—Long Island. “We have been seeing a significant rise in car crash traumas in recent months, with patients experiencing complex multi-system injuries including traumatic brain injury and life-threatening pelvic and thoracic injuries.”
Among those patients was nineteen-year-old Randy Suero, who was returning from a late-night gym workout with a carload of friends, when their vehicle crashed on the Southern State Parkway near Hempstead; fatigue was believed to be a major factor. Randy was pulled from the wreckage by one of his friends, but he suffered facial, rib, and femur fractures, lung contusions, and more, and spent weeks in the hospital. He has a message for drivers this holiday season: “Take your time. There’s no reason to rush, as you’re going to get to your destination. If you go too fast, you’re putting your lives in danger, not just yours but innocent people trying to get to their families and work.”