Truck Driver Kills Cyclist in Long Island City Protected Bike Lane
A truck driver struck and killed a cyclist on 43rd Avenue in Queens early Monday morning, according to police and witnesses.
NYPD could not immediately provide details of the 7:35 a.m. collision at 43rd Avenue and 34th Street, near the border of Sunnyside and Long Island City. But a police spokesperson said “no criminality [was] suspected at this time.”
Police would only confirm that a person on a “two-wheeled vehicle” died at the scene. Photos posted on social media showed the victim’s electric bicycle under the wheel of the truck.
A cyclist who passed by the scene of the carnage observed the white box truck parked at the southwest corner of the intersection — where 34th Street intersects with the 43rd Avenue protected bike lane. The victim was lying in front of the truck’s right wheel and covered with a white sheet, said the witness.
The truck appeared to have stopped in the middle of a right turn over concrete “armadillos” meant to encourage wider turns and slow driver speeds, according to photos the witness provided by the scene.
The Department of Transportation installed protected bike lanes on eastbound 43rd Avenue and its westbound counterpart Skillman Avenue in 2018 following the 2017 death of 32-year-old delivery worker Gelacio Reyes at 39th Street, five blocks away from Monday’s tragedy.
The two east-west streets serve as a key connector to commuters headed towards Manhattan via the Queensboro Bridge.
Monday’s unnamed victim was the 14th cyclist killed by a driver so far this year in New York City, and third in Queens, according to data compiled by Transportation Alternatives.
Five of those 14 victims died at the hands of truck drivers, the group said.
In a statement, the group pinned blame in part on the design of the 43rd Avenue protected bike lane. DOT’s redesign relied on green paint, and excluded any raised concrete to protect cyclists at intersections.
“As cars and trucks get bigger and bigger, paint and plastic are not protection,” said Elizabeth Adams, Transportation Alternatives Interim Co-Executive Director. “To slow down drivers, increase visibility, and keep people safe, this administration must physically protect pedestrians and bike riders with concrete.”
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