Recent Jury Verdict Underscores Perilous Situation At Forest Hills Intersection

It doesn’t get the same media attention as the nearby "Boulevard of Death" (aka Queens Boulevard), but the Forest Hills intersection at 69th Road and the eastbound Grand Central Parkway service road is dangerous for all motorists, as a recent verdict -- which found both drivers liable -- and local residents attest.

A Queens Supreme Court jury recently awarded $250,000 to plaintiff Tariq Tahir, but jurors also determined that he was 20-percent at fault for the wreck, reducing the actual award to $200,000.

This is one a few accidents at the intersection that actually ends up in court, residents claimed. One passer-by estimated that a crash happens once every three days there.

Forest Hills resident Sharon Nocerino, a mother of three who drives around the neighborhood almost every day, said that she intentionally avoids the spot, even if adds extra time to her trips.

“I just don’t feel good about that place,” she said. "There’s so much going on. I don’t think there’s anything regulating it. The flow of traffic is not organized.”

She added: "Drivers are so reckless."

Other residents cited foliage during the warm-weather months that blocks visibility as a deterrent to safety.

In the recent court case, Tahir, the owner of a masonry firm, was driving a sedan on the eastbound service road on Feb. 6, 2009. As he proceeded through the intersection, the front of his sedan slammed into the left side of an SUV that John Grgas was driving.

About three weeks after the wreck, Tahir, who is in his 60s, underwent arthroscopic surgery on his shoulder. He alleged ongoing pain that impairs his ability to work and do household chores.

Meanwhile, the defense asserted that Grgas was following a prior car into the intersection on a green light, but he was hit by Tahir, who had to swerve around the first car because he had just run a red light. The defense also argued that Tahir’s shoulder injury was due to his age and an ongoing, degenerative condition that had nothing to do with the accident.

The spot’s worst accident happened on Aug. 5, 2008, at about 5:30 a.m., when a 17-year-old driver crashed a stolen 2003 Mercedes-Benz into an Acura, killing a married couple. Jacob Chubalashzili pled guilty to first-degree vehicular manslaughter and was sentenced to 2.5 to 7.5 years in prison for the wreck, which killed Ki Kim, 55, and Hyekyung Kim, 53.