NEW YORK (AP) -- The great-granddaughter of Henry Hale Bliss placed roses Monday on the spot where he died, marking the 100th anniversary of the first recorded automobile accident in North America.

Since then, more than 30 million people worldwide have met a similar fate, according to a safety group.

On Sept. 13, 1899, Bliss was struck by an electric automobile after he exited a trolley car at 74th Street and Central Park West and turned to help a woman out of the trolley, according to a report in The New York Times.

The electric automobile was driven by the chauffeur for a prominent physician. The physician assisted at the scene, but Bliss, a real estate dealer, later died at a hospital.

Linda Bliss Salisbury of Fairfield, Conn., joined safety officials and others at Monday's commemoration, which was sponsored by the Safety Sense Institute, a U.S.-Canadian non-profit organization.

Mrs. Salisbury said she attended to increase awareness of traffic safety. ''It's time this problem is addressed and steps are taken to curb these preventable deaths,'' she said.