A Bronx cyclist who was struck by an SUV driver earlier in the month has died, police said.
Very little information was released to the media, but the NYPD says that the 38-year-old cyclist was riding on E. 174th Street in the Soundview section of the borough on Aug. 7 at around 2:30 p.m. when he was struck by the 27-year-old driver of a 2017 BMW SUV near the free-for-all intersection of Fteley Avenue.
A police spokesman said that the bicyclist veered into the path of the driver, but provided no supporting information. Seconds before the crash, the driver had been behind the cyclist on the roadway, which is a few blocks from where the painted bike lane ends, so it is unclear why she did not see the cyclist as he allegedly veered around an object, pothole or double-parked car as he approached the intersection, which has not stop sign or traffic light.
The driver struck the cyclist with her right front bumper, said a police spokesman, who said he had no other information, including whether the driver was distracted by music, a phone or another person in the large vehicle with her.
The injured man, whose name was not released, was taken to Jacobi Hospital with severe head trauma. He died there on Aug. 13. The driver remained at the scene and was not charged, though failure to exercise due care is an option for officers when a driver is passing too closely to another road user who is ahead of her.
The investigation appears to be closed, according to the NYPD press release.
The victim is believed to be the 10th cyclist killed this year by drivers, a relatively high figure given how little driving was happening citywide between March and July. Cyclist injuries are also up slightly citywide, but they are soaring in The Bronx. Since the start of year, 451 cyclists have been injured in The Bronx, which is up 35 percent compared to the same period last year, according to police statistics.
In the last month, cycling injuries are up 40 percent in The Bronx.
The borough has very little bike infrastructure, even as Citi Bike is expanding into the borough.
E. 174th Street appears to be a nice, quiet residential street, but it is dangerous nonetheless. In the eight blocks of the roadway between Manor and Rosedale avenues, there were 90 crashes, injuring 12 pedestrians and 19 motorists in 2018 and 2019.
Ninety crashes in just eight blocks.
Over the same two-year period in the 43rd Precinct, there were 7,097 crashes, killing six pedestrians and one motorist, and injuring 95 cyclists, 309 pedestrians and 1,428 motorists.
