Carnage

Cyclist Badly Injured By Truck Driver at Busy Midtown Corner

The victim may have lost her leg, one witness said.

By Henry Beebe-Center and Gersh Kuntzman

10:20 AM EST on January 14, 2026

Photo of truck that injured cyclist is parked next to mangled bicycle of victim

The truck involved in the crash has a Rhode Island plate with a long history of transgressions. Henry Beebe-Center

A woman on a bike was knocked down by a truck driver — and may have lost her leg — in a terrifying crash at a frenetic Midtown intersection.

According to police, the 53-year-old trucker was piloting his Rhode Island-plated tractor-trailer southbound on Second Avenue at around 6:15 a.m. on Wednesday when he struck the cyclist as he turned right onto E. 57th Street. It is unclear if the cyclist was also turning onto E. 57th Street or if she was already on the crosstown roadway.

Police initially said the woman was taken to NY-Presbyterian Hospital in critical condition with trauma to her leg, but later said she was in stable condition.

But a witness to the crash said the woman’s leg had been severed “off” from her body. That description could not immediately be confirmed.

Streetsblog captured several photos of the crash’s bloody aftermath:

Blood and human matter stain a crosswalk on 2nd Ave and East 57th Street — The truck driver severely injured a cyclist, whose blood stained the crosswalk at Second Avenue and East 57th Street

Close-up of blood and human remains on 2nd Avenue and East 57th Street — A closer look at the crash scene.

NYPD officers stand near a mangled bicycle that belonged to the victim — The collision mangled the victim’s bicycle, bending its front wheel in two places.

Before the truck had been moved, it was clear to see how its driver had run over the woman and her bike, which ended up lodged beneath the truck.

The truck involved in the crash has been nabbed by city speed cameras three times and caught running a red light once since July 2023. It is unclear if the driver in Wednesday’s crash has always been the driver of the truck.

The intersection of E. 57th Street and Second Avenue is one of the busiest in the city, yet there were just eight reported crashes there last year, injuring four pedestrians and two motorists, according to city data. In the last five years, there have been 69 reported crashes, injuring 42 people, including nine cyclists and 11 pedestrians.

This is a breaking story. Check back later for updates.

Henry Beebe-Center

After attending the University of Vermont, Henry packed his things and went to Los Angeles to pursue his dream of working in the motion picture industry. He quickly found that no amount of Hollywood glamour was worth having to endure the suburban hellscape that is Southern California. He’s been in New York ever since — and he's obsessed with urbanism.

Gersh Kuntzman

Tabloid legend Gersh Kuntzman has been with New York newspapers since 1989, including stints at the New York Daily News, the Post, the Brooklyn Paper and even a cup of coffee with the Times. He's also the writer and producer of "Murder at the Food Coop," which was a hit at the NYC Fringe Festival in 2016, and “SUV: The Musical” in 2007. He also writes the Cycle of Rage column, which is archived here.

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