Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Bicycle Safety

Daily News to Deceased Cyclists: “Your Fault.”

2:02 PM EST on December 14, 2007

2106558192_0e823a69d4.jpg
Cyclists protest on Sixth Avenue following the death of David Smith


Last week, we criticized accounts of the death of 63-year-old cyclist David Smith, who was memorialized Wednesday with a Ghost Bike and a die-in on Sixth Avenue. Though Smith was riding in the bike lane and was knocked into traffic by an illegally parked driver who opened his door in Smith's path, initial media reports portrayed the crash as a blameless "freak mishap."

That was only a taste of what was to come. Here, verbatim, are the first five paragraphs of the Daily News story on Saturday, after another cyclist, Franco Scorcia, was killed at W. 40th and Broadway:

Only one person thought it was still safe for Franco Scorcia to take to the streets by bike - and that was Franco Scorcia.

For years, friends told the 72-year-old Bronx father to "leave the bike alone."

The ex-cabbie's two sons were so worried about their dad they offered him a car.

"We told him so many times, 'Don't ride the bike,'" Scorcia's son, Vito, 37, recalled Friday.

The elder Scorcia brushed such demands aside, saying he loved cycling too much to quit. It was that fondness for experiencing the city on two wheels that cost him his life Thursday night when he crashed into a charter bus in midtown.

Given such a loaded lede, you'd expect some exposition describing the mistakes Scorcia must have made that led to his death. But aside from strongly implying that Scorcia's age was somehow a factor, the article includes no details of the crash, other than to say the bus driver was issued six summonses. Regardless, to the writers and editors of this story, Scorcia's mistake was riding a bike on the streets of New York: "It was that fondness for experiencing the city on two wheels that cost him his life."

As such biased coverage is fairly commonplace, it's no wonder the causes of cyclist fatalities and the lack of consequences for motorists go unchallenged, especially when the driver is the sole living witness.

Negating the Daily News' own follow-up coverage that told of how David Smith was known as a safe rider, the Scorcia article links the two deaths -- not because they were both killed at the hands of drivers, but because they were both "elderly cyclists" who, readers are to presume, had no business being on bikes. In so many words, the piece says Scorcia was asking for it.

On average this year, a city cyclist has been killed about every 16 days. Conveniently for much of the mainstream New York press -- not to mention hostile police, indifferent prosecutors, and reckless motorists -- they can't defend themselves against such charges.

Photo: cultshaman/Flickr

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Maximum Rage: Delivery Workers Protest Low Wages, App ‘Lockouts’

Couriers with bikes and signs urge the city to step in as Uber Eats, GrubHub and DoorDash withhold work, they say.

March 28, 2024

The Toll of History: MTA Board Approves $15 Congestion Pricing Fee

New York City's congestion pricing tolls are one historic step closer to reality after Wednesday's 11-1 MTA board vote. Next step: all those pesky lawsuits.

March 28, 2024

Company That Fought McGuinness Safety Project Wants to Seize Bklyn Street for Private Backlot

Broadway Stages to Greenpoint residents: "Street safety for me, not for thee."

March 28, 2024

SEE IT: Hit-and-Run Driver With Fake Plate Seriously Injures Cyclist

The 5 p.m. crash occurred at Flushing and Waverly avenue near the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

March 28, 2024

Thursday’s Headlines: Shakira Shakira Edition

Pop superstar Shakira performed for a crowd of 40,000 packed into the Times Square pedestrian plazas. Plus congestion pricing news and more.

March 28, 2024
See all posts