Brooklyn street sweeper crushes elderly couple’s car, stranding them for months
Cheryl Smith manages a heart condition. Her husband Virgil goes to dialysis three times a week for kidney failure. With both of them dealing with serious health challenges, owning a car isn’t about convenience. It’s about staying mobile enough to keep up with work, treatments, and daily life.
So when a city street sweeper damaged their 2017 Chevrolet Sonic, they were relieved that the driver left a note with the details of the accident. They went right to City Hall to file a claim.
However, the city issued a written reply explaining that the couple would have wait over a year for a claim payment. That is, if officials confirmed responsibility.
The crash happened in East Flatbush in 2024. The sweeper plowed into their car, hitting it on the side and rear hard enough to shove it onto the sidewalk
The driver admitted fault and left instructions for how to file a damage claim.
The Smiths followed the process, submitting the paperwork along with a letter calling the car a total loss. They figured it would take some time. What they didn’t expect was the claim sitting in limbo for up to fifteen months.
Public transportation wasn’t realistic
Cheryl explained she can only walk short distances. Bus or subway stations required too much of a trek. Virgil said relying on Ubers and Access-A-Ride wasn’t sustainable. Without a car, they felt stranded.
By January of this year, the couple turned to WABC’s 7 On Your Side for help.
The team contacted the comptroller’s office directly to ask why the process drags on so long
Comptroller Brad Lander explained that the system handling these claims is more than two decades old and runs on outdated programming.
Each case still has to be investigated with the city agency involved, and the backlog can stretch to thousands of claims per year.
The media pressure worked
The Smiths’ case was fast-tracked, and within a week they received $9,500 to replace their totaled car.
The outcome solved their immediate transportation crisis, but it also proved just how slow and outdated New York City’s claims process remains for anyone without a TV station stepping in.
