Cyclist fatally struck by tractor-trailer truck in the Bronx, NYC

A 34 year old man died in a bicycle accident in the Bronx, NYC, yesterday. The cyclist collided with a tractor-trailer truck on Bruckner Boulevard around 1:45 pm.  It is still not clear how the accident occurred. An initial police report indicates that the cyclist was riding westbound on Bruckner Boulevard and that the Tractor Trailer Truck driver was heading South on Brown Place. No information was provided about who had the light. The report just concludes that the cyclist ran into the back of the truck. The area is often congested as road users use this part of the Bruckner Boulevard to access the Willis Avenue Bridge.

Why would a cyclist run into the back of a truck?

This seems  to be a very strange conclusion and hopefully further investigation will reveal what exactly led to the death of this cyclist. Unfortunately the NYPD has a long history of blaming cyclists for crashes and giving slack to faulty drivers. Last year, Mario Venezuela, a Queens teenager, was fatally hit by a negligent truck driver. The police blamed the teenager for his own death however surveillance footage of the crash shows that the truck driver was reckless and cause the death of the teenager. A video of the crash shows the truck driver veering to his left before cutting hard into a right turn without using his turn signal and crashing into Venezuela.

Bicycle accidents injuries and death on the rise in the Bronx

More and more people are using bikes in the city including in the Bronx. While Citi Bike has been adding new bike stations in the Bronx, the city has not been doing much to protect Bronx cyclists who are often riding their bikes in very dangerous traffic conditions. According to Streetblog, bicycle accident injuries are up 40% this year in the Bronx and several cyclists have been killed.

Read more in Streetblog

Picture: courtesy of Google Map