Bicycle Safety

New York Times Under-Reports Cyclist Fatalities

The New York Times printed an error in the news brief reporting the death of Darren Lewis, the 20-year-old bike messenger killed by a truck in Midtown on Thursday. The Times reported that twelve cyclists were killed in New York City last year. According to the NYPD, 24 cyclists were killed on the city's streets in 2005, twice as many as the Times claims.

By Aaron Naparstek

11:59 AM EDT on August 14, 2006

The New York Times printed an error in the news brief reporting the death of Darren Lewis, the 20-year-old bike messenger killed by a truck in Midtown on Thursday. The Times reported that twelve cyclists were killed in New York City last year. According to the NYPD, 24 cyclists were killed on the city’s streets in 2005, twice as many as the Times claims.

Aaron Naparstek

Aaron Naparstek is the founder and former editor-in-chief of Streetsblog. Based in Brooklyn, New York, Naparstek's journalism, advocacy and community organizing work has been instrumental in growing the bicycle network, removing motor vehicles from parks, and developing new public plazas, car-free streets and life-saving traffic-calming measures across all five boroughs. He was also one of the original cast members of the "War on Cars" podcast. You can find more of his work on his website.