On this day in 1899 first U.S. traffic fatality occurred in New York City

(September 13, 2014) On this day in 1899 (Saturday, Sept. 13) the first known traffic fatality occurred in the U.S. When Henry Bliss stepped off a streetcar at Central Park West and 74th Street in New York, automobiles were a novelty.  Thus, he didn't look carefully, and was run over by an almost silent electric taxi. 

At the time, there were fewer than 8,000 motor vehicles in the whole country.  As the number of registered automobiles climbed rapidly, so did the number of deaths.  In 1990, some 45,000 drivers, passengers and pedestrians were killed on the nation's highways.  In recent years, the number has trended down to fewer than 31,000 fatalities as of 2011, even though the number of cars continues to increase.

Arthur Smith, the driver of the taxicab, was arrested and charged with manslaughter but was acquitted on the grounds that it was unintentional. The passenger, Dr. David Edson, was the son of former New York City mayor Franklin Edson.

A plaque was dedicated at the site on September 13, 1999, to commemorate the centenary of this event. It reads: “Here at West 74th Street and Central Park West, Henry H. Bliss (pictured at right) dismounted from a streetcar and was struck and knocked unconscious by an automobile on the evening of September 13, 1899. When Mr. Bliss, a New York real estate man, died the next morning from his injuries, he became the first recorded motor vehicle fatality in the Western Hemisphere. This sign was erected to remember Mr. Bliss on the centennial of his untimely death and to promote safety on our streets and highways.”

The ceremony was attended by his great-granddaughter, who placed roses on the place where Bliss was struck.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Wikipedia
Top picture: 1899 N.Y. street scene from nyc-architecture.com