New Jersey waitress killed in traffic accident involving distracted driver

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Irina Alekseeva, a 28-year-old Malibu Diner waitress from New Jersey was killed in a traffic accident involving an Amcare van. According to police at the scene, the accident occurred when Alekseeva attempted to cross 14th Street, but was struck by an Amcare Driver who was distracted as he "reached for a clipboard." At the time of the accident, the driver of the van was also transporting a patient - an 89-year-old woman from Hoboken. Both the driver and the patient were admitted to the Jersey City Medical Center. Alekseeva was returning to work at 5:40 a.m. after visiting a nearby BP gas station to purchase cigarettes and a telephone card. She was pronounced dead at 6:16 a.m. after suffering severe injuries including a leg and head laceration, and a compound fracture of her femur. Police determined that alcohol was not a factor in the traffic accident, and the driver of the Amcare van has not been charged, pending an investigation into the incident. Police are currently asking any witnesses to the accident to reach out to the Hudson County Sheriff's Office. Officials are also hoping that surveillance tapes captured the accident to assist in the investigation. According to a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration report in 2009, there were 5,474 deaths and 448,000 injuries in the United States due to traffic accidents involving a distracted driver that year. Sixteen percent of all fatalities and twenty percent of all injuries due to traffic accidents in the U.S. were caused by distracted drivers. Source: nj.com, "Amcare driver distracted when van fatally struck Hoboken waitress: cops," Summer Dawn Hortillosa, Sep 19, 2011.