BROOKLYN — More senior citizens were hit and killed by cars in Brooklyn than any other borough during a 10-year period, a new study released this week found.
From 2003 through 2012, 202 pedestrians ages 60 and older were fatally struck by a vehicle while walking in Brooklyn, according to a study released by the Tri-State Transportation Campaign.
Those crashes accounted for nearly 43 percent of all of Brooklyn's pedestrian fatalities during that period, although seniors make up just 16 percent of the borough's population, the study found.
“What we found in every borough is that when hit by a car, people 60 years old and older have more chance of being killed than their younger counterparts,” said Renata Silberblatt, a senior analyst with the Transportation Campaign who conducted the analysis.
The Tri-State Transportation Campaign, a nonprofit that aims to reduce car dependency, used data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and U.S. Census Bureau to perform the study, called "Older Pedestrians at Risk."
Manhattan saw 155 pedestrians ages 60 and older killed by a vehicle during the study period, while 152 seniors were killed in Queens, 79 in The Bronx and 29 on Staten Island, the study found.
Overall, in New York City and surrounding counties, seniors accounted for 38 percent of pedestrian fatalities even though they made up just 17.5 percent of the area's population, the study found.
According to the AARP, mobility issues can hinder seniors' ability to cross a road quickly, and decreased bone density can worsen their injuries, making the age group particularly vulnerable in a crash.
