Sept 13, 1899: New Yorker Becomes First US Pedestrian killed by Car

1899: Henry Bliss becomes the first pedestrian known to be killed by an automobile in North America.

Bliss, a Manhattan real estate salesman, had just stepped off a streetcar at West 74th Street and Central Park West American Museum of Natural History) when he was struck by a passing taxicab. It knocked him unconscious, crushing his skull and chest. He died the following morning.

The driver of the cab, an electric-powered vehicle, was arrested and charged with manslaughter. The charges were dropped after it was determined that Bliss’ death was unintentional.

Bliss was not the first pedestrian traffic fatality ever recorded anywhere, however. At least two other people are known to have died before him, including Irish scientist Mary Ward, who was run over by a steam-powered car in 1869 in County Down, possibly making her the first auto-traffic victim in the world.

http://www.wired.com/thisdayintech/2011/09/0913first-us-pedestrian-killed-by-car/