Accidental Deaths New York City

Hundreds of mourners, demanding justice and shouting at police officers, marched Monday alongside a hearse carrying the coffin of a 7-year-old black child whose death set off rioting in a mixed black and Jewish neighborhood. The marchers moved tensely and slowly through Brooklyn for five miles, from a Baptist church at which funeral services were held for Gavin Cato to a cemetery where he was buried. As mourners marched, they shouted, "We want justice."

A van driven by a drunken off-duty police officer hit and killed a pregnant woman, her young son and her teenage sister, and the woman's baby died soon after being delivered alive, officials said. Maria Herrera, 24, who was eight months pregnant, died after she was hospitalized Saturday night. Doctors delivered her baby boy after the accident, but he died Sunday morning. Herrera's sister, 16-year-old Dilcia Pena, died at the scene.

A fire broke out Wednesday in the apartment of actor Macaulay Culkin's family, killing four people elsewhere in the Manhattan high-rise. The Culkins were safe, a publicist said. The dead, three women and a man, were found on higher floors of the 51-story building near Central Park. It is believed they died of smoke inhalation. Twenty people, including four firefighters, were injured, none seriously. Investigators were looking into reports that a Christmas tree caught fire.

Three people were killed when they were hit by floats in one of the city's largest ethnic festivals, a parade celebrating Caribbean culture. In the first incident, Joseph Donn and Zacehel David, both 11, were dancing behind a float attached to a truck that stopped suddenly. The driver of the next float couldn't stop in time and hit the children, killing them, police said. Hours later, an 18-year-old man was killed by a float along the parade route. Police did not release details.

The subterranean gymnasium where eight people died in a crush to get inside for a charity basketball game was jammed with as many as 2,000 people beyond its legal capacity, police said Sunday. "It was oversold," Mayor David N. Dinkins said. In addition to the eight deaths, dozens were injured Saturday night at the charity event staged at the City College of New York by rap music stars.

A Tarzana woman, who crashed into a bicyclist while roller-skating in Central Park and struck her head on the pavement when she fell, died Tuesday of her injuries. Leora Natelson, 28, was on in-line skates in the park with a male friend Sunday. The friend, Thomas Bugler, 32, was spinning Natelson around when she lost control and crashed into the bicyclist. She was rushed to St. Luke's Hospital and was placed on life-support machines, but was declared brain dead that afternoon.

Creaking metal and shouts from workers above scattered Times Square pedestrians during the morning rush just seconds before a 20-story chunk of scaffolding collapsed, killing a 73-year-old woman in her living room across the street and injuring 12 people. The scaffolding fell onto the roof of the 12-story Woodstock Hotel, a home for the elderly. New York City officials were investigating the incident.

A van driven by a drunken off-duty police officer hit and killed a pregnant woman, her young son and her teenage sister, and the woman's baby died soon after being delivered alive, officials said. Maria Herrera, 24, who was eight months pregnant, died after she was hospitalized Saturday night. Doctors delivered her baby boy after the accident, but he died Sunday morning. Herrera's sister, 16-year-old Dilcia Pena, died at the scene.

Three people were killed when they were hit by floats in one of the city's largest ethnic festivals, a parade celebrating Caribbean culture. In the first incident, Joseph Donn and Zacehel David, both 11, were dancing behind a float attached to a truck that stopped suddenly. The driver of the next float couldn't stop in time and hit the children, killing them, police said. Hours later, an 18-year-old man was killed by a float along the parade route. Police did not release details.

At least five people have died after undergoing liposuction in New York City and one other unnamed city, researchers from the New York City Poison Control Center report in today's New England Journal of Medicine. "We suspect it's a rare occurrence," said Dr. Rama B. Rao, "but it is not rare enough." Last year, 172,079 Americans underwent liposuction, in which excess fat is vacuumed out of the body, according to the American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons.

At least five people have died after undergoing liposuction in New York City and one other unnamed city, researchers from the New York City Poison Control Center report in today's New England Journal of Medicine. "We suspect it's a rare occurrence," said Dr. Rama B. Rao, "but it is not rare enough." Last year, 172,079 Americans underwent liposuction, in which excess fat is vacuumed out of the body, according to the American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons.

A fire broke out Wednesday in the apartment of actor Macaulay Culkin's family, killing four people elsewhere in the Manhattan high-rise. The Culkins were safe, a publicist said. The dead, three women and a man, were found on higher floors of the 51-story building near Central Park. It is believed they died of smoke inhalation. Twenty people, including four firefighters, were injured, none seriously. Investigators were looking into reports that a Christmas tree caught fire.

Creaking metal and shouts from workers above scattered Times Square pedestrians during the morning rush just seconds before a 20-story chunk of scaffolding collapsed, killing a 73-year-old woman in her living room across the street and injuring 12 people. The scaffolding fell onto the roof of the 12-story Woodstock Hotel, a home for the elderly. New York City officials were investigating the incident.

A Tarzana woman, who crashed into a bicyclist while roller-skating in Central Park and struck her head on the pavement when she fell, died Tuesday of her injuries. Leora Natelson, 28, was on in-line skates in the park with a male friend Sunday. The friend, Thomas Bugler, 32, was spinning Natelson around when she lost control and crashed into the bicyclist. She was rushed to St. Luke's Hospital and was placed on life-support machines, but was declared brain dead that afternoon.

The subterranean gymnasium where eight people died in a crush to get inside for a charity basketball game was jammed with as many as 2,000 people beyond its legal capacity, police said Sunday. "It was oversold," Mayor David N. Dinkins said. In addition to the eight deaths, dozens were injured Saturday night at the charity event staged at the City College of New York by rap music stars.

Hundreds of mourners, demanding justice and shouting at police officers, marched Monday alongside a hearse carrying the coffin of a 7-year-old black child whose death set off rioting in a mixed black and Jewish neighborhood. The marchers moved tensely and slowly through Brooklyn for five miles, from a Baptist church at which funeral services were held for Gavin Cato to a cemetery where he was buried. As mourners marched, they shouted, "We want justice."