Kingston resident proposes community post-crash care team after pedestrian crash

Rose Quinn, a Kingston resident and founder of Safe Pass Ulster, recommended the committee explore forming a community post-crash care team after a recent crash that seriously injured a 77-year-old man.

Quinn told the Complete Streets Advisory Committee that the city has formally adopted the Safe System approach and that post-crash care is a required component of that strategy. She said the injured man — identified in her remarks as Gary White — was struck near his home, that reporting of the collision was delayed and inaccurate, and that a helicopter medical transport was not used though Quinn said she believed it should have been. “If we had a set of protocols in place, that would have happened,” Quinn said.

Quinn defined a post-crash care team as a community-based group that can perform crash analysis, gather accurate information for policymakers and offer noncriminal victim supports. She cited other cities — Rochester, Philadelphia and San Francisco — as places with similar efforts and proposed the committee consider attaching post-crash care work to Kingston’s complete-streets advisory functions. Quinn also offered to set up a nonbinding learning webinar with Rochester so committee members could hear how that city organized its crash victim response team.

Katrina, identified at the meeting as a commissioner who also works at the Department of Mental Health, told the committee the Ulster County Mobile Mental Health team (contracted through Access Supports for Living) is available to respond to post-crash needs and could provide in‑home or follow-up care. Katrina said the team is available 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week, and suggested committee staff share a contact number with families; the number given in the meeting was (844) 277-4820 and the national crisis line 988 was also referenced.

Committee members raised liability and oversight questions about volunteer or community-led support. One member asked who would legally oversee a community crash-response panel and whether volunteers helping victims could expose the city or the volunteer to lawsuits. Quinn and other committee speakers responded that the model she proposed was not an emergency medical response, but a delayed, nonclinical review and support effort days after a crash. Quinn emphasized community recommendations would be nonbinding and that formal policy and adoption (for example, adoption of Vision Zero and full commitment to the Safe System approach) would be the starting point for integrating post-crash care.

No formal motion or vote was taken. Committee members asked staff to follow up off-line; Quinn requested the conversation be opened up to municipal staff and organizations that have implemented similar teams.

Ending: The committee did not adopt any policy at the meeting; members asked staff to pursue follow-up conversations and to consider scheduling the Rochester webinar Quinn offered.