g he was injured in a parked car struck by a tractor trailer on Staten Island, only for officials to later determine he was not in the car, authorities claimed.

 If you have never seen a staged crash, count yourself lucky,  Hochul said.  Over the last five years, we have seen a triple digit increase in staged crashes related to fraud. 

In 2023 alone New York recorded 1,700 such incidents, the second highest of any state in the country that year - with Hochul saying the state's incidents were an  outlier compared to the rest of nation  and that a  broken system  made it easier for criminals to game the system in the Empire State.

 All that fraud drives up what New Yorkers pay in their insurance premium,  Hochul said.  The average New Yorker pays some of the highest auto insurance rates in the entire country, about $4,000 a year. Almost $1,500 more than the national average. 

3 A group of scammers who got deliberately got into a car accident on a New York City highway last summer.

Fake accidents have commanded headlines in recent months, with various videos emerging of cars swerving in front of others than slamming on the breaks.

In one particularly egregious 2024 case, a car was filmed swerving across traffic in an apparent attempt to cause a fender-bender.

But when the car behind them safely braked, the scammers shifted into reverse and accelerated backwards into a collision.

A pile of people then poured out of the attacking car, rubbing their heads and necks in pathetic feints of injury.

Hochul, who is seeking a second full four-year term, is facing Republican Bruce Blakeman in the Nov. 3 election.