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Cyclist Killed After Attempting To Pass Truck In East Williamsburg
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Aug 2, 2011
Modified Aug 2, 2011
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By
Christopher Robbins
Published Aug 2, 2011
Modified Aug 2, 2011
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A cyclist was struck and killed by a truck at the intersection of Gardner & Metropolitan Avenues yesterday morning around 8:30 a.m. Witnesses told police that the 29-year-old man attempted to pass the truck making a right onto Gardner, when the truck's bumper hit the bike's front wheel, sending the man under the vehicle, where he was killed instantly. "The bike was flying along and tried to cheat around the truck," a witness told the Daily News,"His skull was crushed." Police viewed surveillance video of the accident said that no charges will be filed against the driver, as the cyclist was at fault.
Although the cyclist was wearing a helmet, it did little to protect him from the weight of the entire truck. "[The cyclist] should have seen the driver was about to turn," a source with the NYPD said, "The driver had to be going about 5 m.p.h." The driver didn't realize he had hit the man, and had to be flagged down, although he remained at the scene and was later hospitalized for a panic attack and elevated blood pressure.
This is the third cyclist fatality in a little more than 30 days, as Marilyn Dershowitz was killed by a 7-ton mail truck in Midtown on July 3, and D.B.A. owner Ray Deter succumbed to his injuries in an accident on Canal & West Broadway.
Tagged
bike lanes
bikes
brooklyn
cycling accident
cycling fatality
safety
traffic accidents
tragedies
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
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