A 12-year-old girl was hospitalized Friday morning after a concrete mixer truck struck her as she crossed Hudson Avenue in Rochester's Upper Falls neighborhood, according to police. The truck had been traveling east on Upper Falls Boulevard before turning left onto Hudson Avenue when its side struck the girl mid-crossing.
The crash happened at the corner of Hudson Avenue and Upper Falls Boulevard, according to 13WHAM-TV, which was among the outlets to first report the crash. Local station WHEC also confirmed the timing and location Friday morning. Rochester police said the girl was taken to Strong Memorial Hospital with a lower-body injury that was determined to be non-life-threatening.
The mixer truck remained at the scene following the crash. Police said neither drugs nor alcohol were factors, and no citations have been issued as the investigation continues.
A Corridor With a History of Serious Crashes
This is not the first time Hudson Avenue has been the site of a serious pedestrian injury. In February, a high-speed police pursuit through Rochester ended in a crash at the nearby intersection of Hudson Avenue and Clifford Avenue, where a hit transit bus struck and trapped a 38-year-old woman, causing serious injuries, according to the New York State Police.
Just blocks away, the intersection of North Clinton Avenue and Upper Falls Boulevard ranked among the top 10 most dangerous intersections in the Rochester metro area between 2021 and 2023, accumulating 80 total crashes and 32 injuries, per an analysis by Harding Mazzotti LLP using state Department of Motor Vehicles data. The Upper Falls neighborhood where Friday's crash occurred also continues to face disproportionately high levels of poverty and concentrated crime compared to other city sectors, according to a July analysis from the Rochester Beacon.
Pedestrian Crashes Remain a Persistent Problem Countywide
The numbers stretch well beyond this single stretch of road. Between 2015 and 2024, Monroe County recorded 5,113 total crashes involving bicyclists and pedestrians, with 2,518 resulting in injuries or fatalities and an average of 12 deaths per year, according to Reconnect Rochester's analysis of state crash database records. In 2023 alone, Monroe County led the Finger Lakes region in traffic incidents, logging 14,573 total vehicle crashes and nearly 300 pedestrian-involved collisions, per the Porter Law Group.
Those figures prompted U.S. Senator Charles Schumer to push in August 2024 for $23 million in federal Safe Streets and Roads for All grant funding to redesign dangerous Rochester intersections with pedestrian bump-outs, raised crosswalks, and upgraded lighting, following a record high of 15 local traffic deaths in 2023. The City of Rochester has since begun engineering design work to implement pedestrian safety upgrades across 12 high-priority intersections and restripe crosswalks citywide using state grant funding, according to city officials.
What New York Law Says About Turning Vehicles
Under New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law Sections 1111 and 1151, turning motorists are legally required to yield the right of way to pedestrians lawfully crossing within an intersection or adjacent crosswalk, even when the driver has a steady green signal, according to the Newman Firm. Left-turn collisions frequently occur when drivers focus on oncoming vehicular traffic rather than pedestrians crossing in front of them.
A conviction for failing to yield to a pedestrian in New York carries a fine of up to $150 for a first offense, a mandatory state surcharge of $88 to $93, and three points on the driver's record, per Rosenblum Law. As of Friday, Rochester police had not issued any citations in connection with the crash, and the investigation remained ongoing.
