A deadly Queensboro Bridge exit ramp has claimed another victim in a horrific high speed crash, a relative told The Post.
Beatriz Rodriguez, 40, died last night of injuries related to severe head trauma she suffered when the car she was riding in slammed into two Queens shops early Wednesday, according to the heartsick family member.
Rodriguez had been clinging to life at Cornell Hospital after the accident — which occured just nine days after the smash-up of a 2007 Volkswagen Rabbit that killed 68-year-old pedestrian Anthony Buscemi.
In a chilling echo of the first tragedy, Rodriguez had been in the passenger seat of a 2006 Volkswagon Jetta driven by Alexander Palacio, 39, when he came off the exit, lost control and plowed into the stores.
Business owners in the area demanding the city quickly fix the “death trap” site.
“Maybe if they hung a body from a rope, then people would know to slow down,” said Dr. Matthew Hyde, a dentist whose Long Island City practice is near the scene of the accidents. “Maybe now [the city is] doing something.”
Narinber Singh, who owns a nearby cafe and rushed to the scene after the crash, said, “I came and they were pulling people out of the car, a girl and a guy. The guy was just screaming.”
Hyde and other business people said barriers from an ongoing road-construction project have forced traffic from the bridge’s inner exit ramp to abruptly merge with exiting outer-ramp traffic. Then both traffic flows are dramatically funneled onto yet another lane of nonbridge traffic on Queens Plaza South.
“They’re all fighting for the same space,” said Ron Shapiro of KAF Check Cashing, whose front window was smashed by last week’s crash.
In the March 28 crash, driver Grant Riddell at around 4:30 a.m. failed to make the sharp right-hand curve of the outer ramp. His Volkswagen flipped in midair and crashed into the row of businesses near the corner of Crescent Street, killing Buscemi, injuring a female passenger and severing Riddell’s left arm.
At 4:06 a.m. Wednesday, Queens resident Palacio lost control of his Jetta on the off ramp, and crashed into two of the same businesses Riddell had hit — Espinal Caribbean Restaurant II and Villa de Beaute salon.
Palacio, whose left arm also was severed, was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where Riddell has been treated since last week. Palacio — who’s license had been suspended six times for speeding and failure to pay fines — was arrested and charged as an aggravated unlicensed operator.
Scott Agulnick, a lawyer hired by Espinal Caribbean and Villa de Beaute, which are temporarily closed, said they plan to sue both drivers and file a notice of claim against the city that could lead to a lawsuit.
“Clearly, after that first accident, the powers that be should have realized that there was a fundamental problem with how the traffic is handled,” Agulnick said.
“The fact that there was a second accident confirms what everyone has been saying, which is that this intersection is something of a death trap.”
City Department of Transportation spokesman Seth Solomonow said the latest crash “remains under investigation by the NYPD, but excessive speed appears to be the dominant factor.”
“DOT will add signs to remind motorists of the bridge’s 30-mph speed limit and will also install rumble strips and 20-mph signs to the many curve-warning signs already posted along the off-ramp,” he said.
After yesterday’s accident, concrete barriers were placed in front of the businesses on Queens Plaza South that had been hit in both crashes.
Additional reporting by Jeane MacIntosh, Lorena Mongelli, Jessica Simeone and Amber Sutherland