'Carnage Has to Stop.' A 'Die-In' Prompted by Recent Car Crash Deaths.

Along a walkway leading to City Hall, demonstrators stage a five-minute "die-in." Photo: Carl Glassman/Tribeca Trib

Dozens of demonstrators sprawled out on City Hall Park pavement last week for a “die-in” to protest the recent fatalities of four people in five days, all struck by cars. 

“I thought a lot today about these four people who have died, and I think about them being left on the street to die,” Mary Beth Kelly, a co-founder of Families for Safe Streets, told the crowd before the five-minute die-in began. Hit and runs—and we have no one apprehended in this city where you’ve got cameras just about everywhere. No apprehension.”

According to Families for Safe Street and Transportation Alternatives, the event’s co-sponsor, injuries from hit-and-run drivers rose 76% compared to this time last year, but resulting in few arrests. 

“This carnage has to stop, and we need a master plan, a vision from a visionary mayor who wants our streets to be the envy of the world,” said Kelly, whose husband was killed by a tow truck turning into the intersection where the couple was crossing. Among the activists’ demands are lower speed limits and a network of connected bike paths.

Another Families for Safe Streets member, Julie Huntington, read the names and ages of the 58 pedestrians killed this year by drivers. Her father was the victim of a car crash seven years ago.

“This is a way for me to put my pain to purpose,” Huntington said, “in the hopes that other people won’t suffer this devastating loss in the way that we have.”

In a statement, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said: “These tragic deaths underscore exactly why I support Vision Zero and any effort to prevent deadly crashes across our city. Whether you’re walking, biking, driving or riding public transit, you deserve to get where you’re going safely.”

The mayor’s office highlighted steps it had taken to make streets safer, including “record investments” in the Department of Transportation budget, safety redesigns of a number of streets and bike lane and pedestrian space upgrades. 

“The efforts led to pedestrian deaths at historic lows and the first half of 2026 became among the safest years on record,” the mayor’s office said in a statement.