Community Corner
Family Of Rego Park Woman Killed By Cab Driver Calls For Reforms
Sherena Hundalani's family is lobbying the city to raise insurance requirements for taxi drivers from $300,000 per crash to $1 million.
REGO PARK, QUEENS — The family of a Rego Park woman killed by a green cab driver earlier this year is lobbying the city to raise insurance requirements for taxi drivers.
Sherena Hundalani, 26, was standing on the sidewalk by Queens Boulevard and 63rd Road on Feb. 24 when a cab driver hit and killed her, then drove away.
Now, Hundalani's family wants to honor her legacy with "Sherena's Law," which would require licensed for-hire vehicles to carry at least $1 million in insurance coverage for crashes.
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The NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission, which licenses yellow and green cabs, requires minimum coverage of $300,000 per crash. That includes a maximum liability of $100,000 per crash victim.
It's a sum that lawyer Edward Paltzik calls "grossly inadequate." Paltzik, whose law firm is representing the family in a pending lawsuit against the city, said the TLC's insurance requirements don't hold taxi drivers adequately accountable for fatal crashes like this one.
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"A family should never be in a situation where they're left with $100,000 for the death of a loved one," he told Patch by phone. "That's like compensation for a slip-and-fall case. A beautiful soul is dead."
The Queens District Attorney's Office is investigating the crash, according to Paltzik, but the driver responsible for Hundalani's death currently faces no charges. Police took him into custody for questioning shortly after the crash, then released him.
The driver's TLC license was suspended pending an investigation and possible criminal charges, the New York Daily News reported.
Law firms, which take a percentage of insurance payments, would stand to benefit from Sherena's Law, but Paltzik said this is a matter of public safety.
"There's no adequate amount of money to compensate for the death of anybody," he said. "However, this is the system we live in — and it's imperfect — but people have to be held accountable."
"You're not accountable when you can get away with $100,000 for a death," he added.
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