bicycle accident nyc

Published on: November 7, 2019

87 year old man is the 27th victim to die in a NYC bicycle accident this year

An 87 year old cyclist who was struck by a car in New York City last week died from his injuries. While the police blame the accident on the victim saying that he blew a red light, witnesses told the NY Daily News that the bicyclist had the right of way and that the car driver blew a red light.

The accident occurred last Tuesday at the intersection of Avenue P and Ocean Parkway in Brooklyn. The cyclist was riding west on Avenue P and was struck by the car as he was in the crosswalk. One of the witness, a female pedestrian, told the News that she was also about to cross the street after the light turned green in favor of the pedestrians when a black minivan zoomed out of nowhere, ran the red light and hit the cyclist. The witness saw the cyclist falling on the top of the car and said there was blood everywhere. The 36-year-old driver stayed at the scene of the accident and was not charged. The police maintained he had the green light.

The elderly cyclist was transported to the hospital in critical condition. He died from his injuries a few days later.

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Published on: October 31, 2019

NYC Street Master Plan expected to be approved Today but will not start under de Blasio watch

By GGCRBHS&M

To prevent pedestrian and bicycle accidents in New York City, a new bill proposed by Corey Johnson is expected to be approved today by the City Council after Mayor de Blasio gave its approval on a delayed version. The bill entitled NYC Street Master Plan includes the construction of 250 miles of protected bike lanes, multiple pedestrian safety measures and 150 miles of dedicated bus lanes over a five year period. Mayor de Blasio finally gave his support to the bill but on the condition that it would not start this month but in December 2021 when a new mayor takes over. Corey Johnson is one of the candidates running for NYC mayor in 2021 and if he wins he would be the one in charge of implementing his own plan.

Mayor de Blasio was not in favor of the Street Master Plan when it was proposed at the beginning of the year, arguing that his Vision Zero program was enough to make pedestrians and bicyclists safe in the city. After multiple fatal bicycle accidents occurred during the first half of the year, proving him wrong, de Blasio unveiled a five year plan dubbed the “Green Wave Bicycle Plan”, a diluted version of the “Street Master Plan” in July.

However after bicycle accident fatalities continued to rise to record numbers in the city over the fall and the summer, the mayor changed his mind and agreed on a delayed version of the Street Master Plan. Delaying the plan for two years means that NYC cyclists will continue to face dangerous riding conditions at least for another 2 or 3 years.

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Published on: October 20, 2019

Despite a drop in crashes, traffic fatalities increased and injuries stayed stable last August

By GGCRBHS&M

The number of traffic accidents in NYC recorded by the NYPD in August was the lowest recorded during the month of August since 2013. It is a “good surprise” since NYC traffic accidents have been on a steady rise over the last years. However while the number of accidents significantly declined from 19,272 in August 2018 to 16,954, in August 2019 the number of people injured in these accidents barely declined from 5,373 to 5,366 and the number of fatalities increased from 16 to 21. The ratio of injuries compared to the number of accidents reached a record high of 32% compared to 28% the same month a year earlier. The ratio of deaths compared to the number of accidents was also at a record high indicating that the streets of New York City are getting more dangerous.

Record number of bicycle accident fatalities since the beginning of the year

632 bicycle accidents were reported in New York City last August compared to respectively 669, 606, 694, 707, 646 and 655 in August 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014 and 2013. While the number of bicycle accidents in August slightly declined from 2018 to 2019, the number of injuries slightly increased. 468 people were injured while bicycling in the city in August compared to respectively 430, 477, 567, 565, 491 and 523 in August 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014 and 2013. 1 cyclist died in August bringing the total number of bicycle accident fatalities recorded by the NYPD since the beginning of the year to 18 compared to respectively 8, 12, 16, 11, 15 and 7 for the same period of 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014 and 2013. While last year the number of bicycle accident fatalities reached its lowest since Vision Zero started, the opposite occurred this year with a record number of bicycle accident fatalities. While the de Blasio administration has been encouraging New Yorkers to commute by bike, these recent fatalities are a reminder that NYC streets remain dangerous for bicyclists. The August victim was 52 year old Jose Alzorritz. Alzorritz was waiting at the red light when a driver ran the red light, collided with another vehicle that slid through the road and killed the cyclist. Another e-biker was killed in August but the NYPD categorize e-bike accidents as motorcycle accidents.

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Published on: October 16, 2019

Another bicyclist died in a car crash

By GGCRBHS&M

65 year old Bogdan Darmetko died in a bicycle accident in New York City on Sunday. Bogdan was riding his bike on Cross Bay Boulevard in Broad Channel around 2:30 pm when he was hit by a 32 year old man driving a 2008 Ford SUV. According to the police report the cyclist who was riding in the unprotected bike lane made a left into the path of the car and was fatally struck by the front of the vehicle. The driver stayed at the scene of the accident and wasn’t charged. When the EMS arrived they found Bogdan lying on the ground. They rushed him to the hospital but he couldn’t be saved. Bogdan Darmetko is the 25th person to die in a NYC bicycle accident this year. He had been riding his bicycle in the city for the last 10 years.

Residents have long complained that speeding is an issue but nothing has been done

The accident occurred at a spot where some road construction was ongoing and the cyclist might have swerved to avoid it. Speed might have been a factor in his death as well. Cross Bay Boulevard is known for excessive speeding and Broad Channel residents have long been asking the DOT to install stop lights to address this problem. The bike lane on both sides of the road is not protected. Many accident have occurred previously on this Boulevard. NYC Crash Mapper reports that in the area where Cross Bay Boulevard crosses through Broad Channel a total of 273 crashes were reported since the beginning of 2016 until the end of last September. 8 cyclists, 4 pedestrians and 82 motorists were injured in some of these accidents.

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Published on: October 8, 2019

Reckless driver kills 10 year old bicyclist in Brooklyn , NYC

By GGCRBHS&M

A NYC child riding a bike in a crosswalk was killed by a motorist who failed to yield while making a left turn. The accident occurred on Saturday morning around 10:30 am in Brooklyn, NYC. 10 year old Dalerjon Shahobidinov was on his bike in the crosswalk on Foster Avenue when 29 year old Victor Mejia made a left turn from Seton Place and recklessly slammed into him. Mejia stayed at the scene of the accident. The police found that he was driving without a license and charged him with failure to exercise due care, failure to yield and driving without a license. The driver who never applied for a license, has a long history of reckless driving with 22 summonses that include two running red lights.

24 bicyclists killed in NYC in 2019

Dalerjon was a fourth grade student at PS 134 and has 3 other siblings. When the accident occurred he was riding with a group of friends with whom he was playing soccer in Prospect Park. The child is the 24th cyclist to die in a traffic accident in New York City this year. The victim before him was a senior e-bike rider. 62 year old Abul Bashar was a delivery cyclist for a restaurant. He was struck by a private sanitation truck on September 8th and could never recover from his injuries. He died on September 18th.

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Published on: September 23, 2019

Cyclist teenager dies after colliding with a private sanitation truck in Long Island City, NYC

By GGCRBHS&M

A 14 year old cyclist was fatally struck by a truck in New York City on Saturday afternoon. Mario Valenzuela was riding his bike on Borden Avenue around 2:00 pm Saturday afternoon when a truck belonging to limited Interior Group, a private sanitation company, made a right turn onto 11th street and fatally struck him.

The 33 year old truck driver stayed at the scene of the accident and wasn’t charged even though he violated the Right of Way Law.

Last week an off duty cop on a motorcycle was also killed by a private sanitation truck in the Bronx and at the beginning of the month another cyclist suffered critical head injury after he was struck by a dump truck in Gowanus, Brooklyn. Plans to reform the industry and reduce truck roads by having a limited number of companies taking care of specific areas have all been opposed so far.

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Published on: September 13, 2019

NYC Traffic fatalities back above 100 and car accident injuries at record highs during the first semester of 2019

By GGCRBHS&M

51 pedestrians, 13 cyclists 11 passengers and 28 motorists died in auto accidents in New York City during the first semester of 2019. After two consecutive years of decline, traffic fatalities in the city went back above 100 at 101 during the first six months of the year compared to respectively 84, 96, 107, 107, 97 and 121 in the same period of 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014 and 2013. Fatalities increased for all categories of road users except for motorist deaths which stayed stable at 26 during the first semester of this year and the previous one.

NYC Traffic injuries reached a record high at 29,081 during the first semester of the year compared to respectively 28,544, 27,923, 27,540, 23,530, 24,508 and 26,119 during the first semester of 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014 and 2013. All category of road users except pedestrians suffered more injuries during this semester than during the previous one.

While the total number of bicycle accidents reported to the NYPD during the first semester of 2019 was slightly lower than the number of accidents reported during the same period of 2018, cyclist fatalities more than doubled during the first six months of the year compared to the first semester of 2018 to reach a record high of 13. Bicycle accident injuries jumped to 1,907, a record high as well. These numbers came as a bad surprise as 6 months earlier, the de Blasio administration which had been promoting using bicycles to commute around the city was proudly announcing that the number of cyclists killed in the city reached a record low of 9 for the entire year of 2018 and that Vision Zero Initiatives were working. A similar pattern occurring in 2015 and 2016 is an indication that despite all Vision Zero improvements, the city remains a dangerous and deadly place to ride a bicycle.

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Published on: September 4, 2019

Cyclist dies after being intentionally run over by a SUV

By GGCRBHS&M

A man intentionally struck a cyclist and killed him in Brooklyn. The accident occurred Sunday morning around 6:00 am on Broadway near Ellery St. in Bushwick. The driver of the SUV whose car had been broken in earlier saw the cyclists fiddling with cars and got out of his Jeep Grand Cherokee to question him. The conversation got heated and the cyclist took off on his bike. The driver got back into his SUV and chased him. He sped after him in the oncoming lane of traffic and slammed into him, crushing him against the parked cars. The impact was so violent that the SUV flipped onto its side. The entire accident was caught by a surveillance video.

The 47 year old cyclist died at the scene of the accident and the 41 year old driver was taken into custody. Charges are pending. Two parked cars and a semi-truck were also damaged in the collision. The police found two car stereos, a screwdriver, a set of Allen wrenches, and a fake pistol laying amidst the wreckage.

Using a car as a weapon for a vigilante act is completely unacceptable

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Published on: August 24, 2019

Despite Vision Zero effort, cyclists deaths are back to their highest during the second trimester of 2019

By GGCRBHS&M

More people than ever were injured in auto accidents in New York City and the number of cyclists deaths was back at its highest during the second trimester of 2019. Despite a significant decline in the total number of accidents recorded by the NYPD during the period of April, May and June, more motorists, passengers and cyclists were injured in accidents during the second trimester of 2019 than during the same period of 2018. Pedestrians were the only NYC road users that recorded a decline in injuries compared to the same period of 2018.

16,084 people were injured in NYC traffic accidents during the second trimester of 2019 compared to respectively 15,624, 15,315, 15,604, 13,461, 13,703 and 14,443 during the second trimester of 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014 and 2013. This is the first time that the number of accident injuries in New York goes over 16,0000 during the second trimester. Motorists are the ones who are the most frequently injured in car accidents. They account for almost half of the cases. Passengers injuries account for almost a third of the injuries.

After a steady decline from 2015 to 2018, auto accident fatalities increased again during the second trimester of 2019. 24 pedestrians, 17 motorists, 7 cyclists and 6 passengers died in traffic accidents in New York City last April, May and June.

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Published on: August 13, 2019

19th cyclist killed in New York by reckless teen driver who blew a red light

By GGCRBHS&M

52 year old Jose Alzorritz died in a horrific bicycle accident in New York City on Sunday afternoon. Alzorritz was on his bike at the intersection of Coney Island Avenue and Avenue L when a reckless driver speeding down Coney Island Ave blew the red light and collided with a minivan that was crossing the intersection from Avenue L. The impact was so intense that the minivan slid through the intersection and violently struck the cyclist. When the EMS arrived to the scene of the accident, they found Alzorritz unconscious on the ground with major head trauma. He was rushed to the hospital but he couldn’t be saved. A pedestrian suffered a leg injury and the driver of the van multiple body trauma. They were both hospitalized but their lives are not in danger. The police didn’t reveal the identity of the reckless driver who caused the accident. They only revealed that he was 18 year old. He was taken into custody and charges are pending. A dashboard video of the accident clearly shows that the driver was reckless and sped through the red light (see below).

Dangerous Avenue

Coney Island Avenue is a dangerous avenue. Last month a pedestrian was killed at the intersection of Church Avenue. Maria Del Carmen Porras-Hernandez was in the crosswalk when she was fatally hit by a car. 19 cyclists, 43 pedestrians and 114 motorists were injured in traffic accidents between July 2018 and July 2019 on Coney Island Avenue. Speeding is frequent and so is double parking. Transportation Alternative published a statement in which the traffic safety advocate is asking Coney Island City Council to unite behind Speaker Corey Johnson’s Streets Master Plan bill, which would accelerate the schedule of redesigning deadly corridors like Coney Island Avenue.

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