Death on NYC streets: Hit-and-run crashes are on the rise, and culprits are getting away with it

NEW YORK - New York City has seen a concerning rise in hit-and-run crashes across the five boroughs, and more concerningly, many of the drivers responsible are getting away with it.

On Monday night, a 46-year-old man in Brooklyn was struck and killed by not just one driver, but by two. Both drivers fled the scene after the crash.

For Patrick Sandiford, the news is especially jarring after his mother, 79-year-old Yvonne Sandiford was killed the same way, also in Brooklyn, also dying alone in the street. 

"I was like wow, again?" Sandiford said. "It just brought back everything from when I first heard of my mom." 

So far, no arrests have been made in either crash.

According to a Transportation Alternatives analysis of NYPD data, just 5% of drivers who seriously hurt or killed people on the city's streets were caught last year, meaning 95% of the suspects got away with the crime.

Police sources tell FOX 5 NY that fake plates and obscured plates are just one of the reasons they're unable to track down hit-and-run drivers. 

 "There have been 220 people killed so far this year, a 25% increase since 2018. This has resulted in a lot of families losing loved ones," said Juan Restrepo of Transportation Alternatives. "At the end of the day, the Mayor is the person with the ability to make change happen in the city."

Experts say there's a clear solution to the problem. The first is prevention, with redesigns to the city's streets that give pedestrians a head start at lights and create a broader field of vision for drivers at intersections.

As for what to do about the criminal hit-and-run drivers who don't get caught, that is apparently a more difficult solution.