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Driver Charged, Cyclist Identified in Fatal Brooklyn Crash
By
John Del Signore
Published Apr 15, 2010
Modified Apr 29, 2010
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By
John Del Signore
Published Apr 15, 2010
Modified Apr 29, 2010
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The unlicensed driver who killed an 18-year-old bike rider yesterday morning blew through a red light before crashing into the victim and dragging him over 50 yards, police say. The driver, 28-year-old Michael Oxley of Brooklyn, was charged with criminally negligent homicide amongst other charges, City Room reports. According to witnesses, the cyclist, Jake McDonaugh, was riding east on Beverly Road around 9:30 a.m. and entered the intersection at Flatbush Avenue as Oxley sped through the red light. "He got stuck under the van, and the van [dragged] him about half a block against the asphalt," witness Brian Lorde tells the Daily News. "It was awful. He never had a chance."
McDonaugh, who lived on McDonald Avenue in Windsor Terrace, was pronounced dead at the scene. A devastated friend of his writes, "Jake was one of the most, if not the most, unique, talented and dedicated people I have ever known, and genuinely by no means an exaggeration of his character... I had the pleasure of working on several screen-printing jobs with Jake, in which he stood out to me even more so as an amazingly talented artist. He earned an honest living selling his art on the streets of SoHo and undeniably left an impact under the pseudonym, 'Drip.'"
Earlier yesterday, another cyclist was critically injured in Brooklyn after getting hit by a Toyota Camry shortly after midnight on Linden Boulevard at the corner of Schenck Avenue. It's being reported that the 21-year old driver stayed at the scene and was not charged; the victim's identity was not released. (Later that morning, another cyclist was hit at Lexington Avenue and 23rd Street, and was taken to Bellevue Hospital with non-life threatening injuries, NY1 reports. And over in DUMBO a pedestrian was hit by a van.)
In a statement, Paul Steely White at Transportation Alternatives said, "When four New Yorkers are seriously injured or killed on the same day in different parts of this city, we know the problem is larger than the particulars of any isolated incident. The only way out of this chaos is through safer streets and safer drivers sharing the roads."
Tagged
bike
cyclist
death
Jake McDonaugh
traffic accident
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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