May 29, 2018 By Christian Murray
A bicyclist is dead after being run over by a box truck near MoMA PS11 Tuesday, police said.
The victim, a 45-year-old man, was killed in the vicinity of 21st Street and 46th Avenue at about 3 p.m., after being thrown onto the street when he was struck by a door of a parked car that opened.
When police arrived on the scene the victim had severe trauma to the head and body. He was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.
A police investigation determined that the victim, whose name his yet to be released, was riding north bound on 21st Street when an individual in a parked car opened a door and struck the bicyclist. When the victim fell off the bicycle and into the road he was run over by a white box truck.
All vehicle operators remained on the scene.
The driver of the box truck was taken into custody for not having a valid driver’s license. The police investigation continues.
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34 Comments
Curious as to why the truck driver, albeit unlicensed, is at fault here. It is a violation and unlawful on the car driver’s part for opening the door and impeding the cyclist causing harm and in this case death
I don’t want to sound unsympathetic but one has to ask why anyone with knowledge of cycling would bike om 21rst street. This is a major auto thoroughfare with no bike lanes or cyclist support oaf any kind. This (death illustrates a greater problem. As cyclists are a tiny minority (3-6, % of population by DOT’s accounting actually less) they seem to be involved in a disportionate number of accidents. DOT’s numbers indicate a cyclist is 4 times as likely t to create an accident as a driver of an automobile. Not saying this is the cyclist’s fault but a simple idea of using provided bike lanes a block or so away would have likely saved his life. This is all to common. The much publicized cyclist deaths at 39th street and 43rd ave were both caused by the cyclist running the red light. Isn’t it time we realized that these cyclist deaths, however tragic are most often caused by the cyclist.
One of the deaths at 43 & 39th was pinned on a hit and run drunk driver found by police a few hours later, yet somehow you know that was the fault of the cyclist running a light instead, not a drunk with a suspended license?
The second incident at that intersection occurred between a box truck and a cyclist that were both traveling along 43rd, with the truck turning onto 39th. How exactly does that equate to the cyclist running the red light?
Hey jerk off he was doored have you ever heard of the term?
“Driver Inattention” was the #1 specified contributing factor of all NYC crashes over the past 12 months; accounting for 10% of all contributing factors. Crashes with “Pedestrian and/or Bicyclist error” specified as a contributing factor only accounted for 1%. CrashMapper.org
cycling on NYC roads, with our overcrowding, is plain nuts. After age 31 or so, I grrew sensible to the sheer stress–and said, “why?” Why put up with fear of death or maiming by multi-ton vehicles and sheer chance? Why did I need an hour or so to decompress from raised blood pressure from heightened fight of flight hormones, heartbeat, even shakiness? When you chance death daily, your odds of survival do not go up–but the opposite, and yet everyone, insanely for New Yorkers, is all right with it–and politicians foster over 700 deaths–read that–from bicycling related accidents. That’s this year.
Many times more pedestrians than that have been killed by cars in the city. Are you advocating that people not walk, either?
Where did you come up with the number 700 “this year”?
I’ve been biking in Queens for more than 20 and it’s by far my favorite way of getting around. I love the bike lanes and feel safer than ever. I biked from Sunnyside to the library in Elmhurst the other day and it was very pleasant.
We should have the right to do so. Even though I cycled every day in NY, it was decades ago. You’re saying we should give up because of bad drivers. If this was a young woman getting cat-calls every day, would you tell her to cover up and take another route?
I was once struck like that when I was a teen. Shaken but lived as there was nothing coming behind me. RIP
Its sad that he died but the title of the story is extremely misleading, his death is not a direct result of being run over but a by product of everyone not paying attention to their surroundings.
DeBlasio speaks with forked tongue. Says one thing to get bicyclists support at elections, but puts a different kind of pressure on the PD, which filters down to enforcement and this awful kind of incident. While truck driver is unlicensed, person who carelessly threw door into bicyclist, actually caused this death
Indeed. The license is punishment-worthy, but a side issue in this case. The cyclist would probably have been dead from a licensed driver, too.
How in the world do you twist this story around and use it to criticize Mayor de Blasio. Sure, he may not be the greatest leader this city’s ever had and he sure does behave like a politician but this accident has nothing to do with him or the NYPD. Why don’t YOU run for mayor?
There should be a campaign in NYC to get drivers to use the “Dutch method” of opening the vehicle door. This means that you take your right arm across your body to operate the door handle. In the process of doing this, you twist your body giving you peripheral vision of a cyclist in the lane and reminding you to look before you open the vehicle door for a cyclist.
A cyclist is better off taking the whole lane, rather than riding in the door zone.
Stop using deaths to lecture people about Effective Cycling dogma.
It’s not dogma, it’s practical safety, especially on that road, which I regrettably ride plenty. No doors, no one tries to squeeze by you.
I’m not sure how you distinguish plain commentary from “lecturing”.
David, thank you for the good advice. It can potentially save a life. What’s Jim’s contribution? Jim sounds like an obnoxious blowhard.
That’s good advice- I’ve been riding in Queens for many years and always stay in the middle of the right lane. I was “doored” once and do NOT want it to happen again.
LIC is extremely dangerous for cycling, skateboarding, rollerblading. The bike lanes are really no safer than the road. They need to be paved and painted a bright color. There needs to be more concrete barriers. Most importantly, the police need to enforce the law. Anyone and anything can park in bike lanes in LIC. Whether for loading, idling and even parking big rigs overnight. Not to mention many vehicles that block the bike lanes are also blocking the sidewalk forcing us to go in the road with vehicles. I can hear the cops now saying “we have better things to do”. Tell that to the dead people and their families. I have turned from being a huge proponent of the NYPD to despising them thanks to a couple of interactions I have had with them over the years.
Really sad, I bike here often. People treat 21st like a damn drag strip, although that doesn’t appear to be the case here. Terrible news 🙁
21st and Jackson are not bike friendly (although there’s a citibike dock here). Much safer to ride along Vernon where the volume keeps traffic relatively slow, and there are bike lanes.
The bike lanes on Vernon are consistently filled with cars/trucks making them nominally safer than 21st. I even have pictures of nearly 20 school buses in the bike lane on Vernon one day last summer. I have seen the NYPD roll by these offenses without even batting an eye despite the Vision Zero push. I don’t understand the lack of concern around this topic.
The Vernon lanes may have buses and other trucks parked (in predictable spots), but even at that they are more than “nominally” safer than 21st. There’s really no comparison.
I’m not sure what the actual allowance is in front of the DOE building, given that they have curb cuts and loading dock bays. If they had tractor trailers extending into the lane from the docks, that would be allowed. Maybe technically they can park there for an indefinite time?
I’ve never taken the time to make a 311 complaint about it. I wonder what the officer response would be? I don’t think it’s even an actual school, with kids.
de blasio’s typical nypd “what, me worry, its just a dead biker ¯\_(ツ)_/¯” attitude. absolutely disgusting, of course nobody will face charges.
Why didn’t the Box Truck Driver have a license?
Half of the commercial vehicles in NYC are driven by drivers who are not properly licensed or with the experience or training needed to operate the vehicle. (OK. I don’t have statistical proof of this but remember, any fool can go to a rental agency and rent a box truck with no verification of the ability to drive the vehicle.)
If it is under 16,000 lb in total gross weight you just need a regular license to drive a box (or any) truck. The vast majority of box trucks are under that weight. In most likelihood, this driveeither didn’t have a driver’s license at all or had a license that was suspended or revoked.
Probably figured, “Why bother?” Driving without a license is easy and not subject to a substantial penalty.
When I was hit by a hit and run driver the police told me that they almost always run either because they are under the influence, they are illegal or they have no insurance or drivers license. At least this guy has a heart and did not try to run.
How are DeBlasio’s Safe Streets working? Not well for bicyclists it seems. What a shame. It doesn’t say if he was wearing a helmet, but it wouldn’t have mattered when the truck hit the poor man.
No where in the article did it mention that he wasn’t wearing a helmet. And as you mentioned, it was irrelevant considering that he was hit by a truck.
The helmet excuse is always portrayed by media and some folks (not saying you particularly) as a form of victim blaming. We really need safer street infrastructure for cyclists and more in depth drivers ed training that includes a portion about sharing the road with other users. So many people are injured as a result of being “doored” and from dangerous drivers.
Has anyone also noticed that cyclist deaths are up over last year? Doesn’t look De Blasio’s Vision Zero applies to cyclists.
I am in no way blaming the victim as I cycle around a little myself. I hope he wasn’t going too fast that he could not stop. Sometime a door opens just like that and there is nothing you can do, fast or slow. I have not come across too many quick opening doors myself. I do look out for cars that have their lights on while parked just in case they pull quickly out in front of me. Cycling has definitely become very dangerous in all 5 boroughs.