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[UPDATE] Skateboarder Struck & Killed By Delivery Truck Near Union Square
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Nov 20, 2012
Modified Nov 20, 2012
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By
Christopher Robbins
Published Nov 20, 2012
Modified Nov 20, 2012
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[UPDATE BELOW] A 24-year-old man was struck and killed by a truck near Union Square this morning. An NYPD spokesman said the man was riding a skateboard southbound near the intersection of Union Square West and 17th Street at around 11:15 a.m. when he "lost control" of the skateboard and "fell under" a 2004 Mitsubishi delivery box truck.
Police said the driver of the truck, a 35-year-old man, remained at the scene of the incident. No criminality is suspected. We'll update if we receive any additional information.
[UPDATE // 3:22 PM] Dave Schaller, a 36-year-old Coast Guard member who was smoking a cigarette on Union Square West, says that the skateboarder was hit as he was reaching down to pick up his skateboard in the street. "The kid was picking up his skateboard when the truck hit him," Schaller said. "The driver wasn't paying any attention."
Schaller said he called 911 and was administering chest compressions to the victim and receiving instructions from an EMT on the line when the driver of the truck intervened. "I was on the phone with the EMT trying to help the kid and the driver pulled me off twice and told me not to touch him." Through tears, Schaller added that he held the man until authorities arrived. "I could feel his pulse. I could feel the life coming out of him."
A call placed to the owner of the truck, a Bronx-based apartment supply company, was not answered.
[UPDATE // 4:19 PM] Elaine, a New School student who was walking to class, said that what she saw confirmed the NYPD's report and differed considerably with Schaller's account. She says that the skateboarder was riding next to the truck, and that she saw the skateboarder place his hand on the side of the truck when it traveled down Union Square West. "He lost his balance, and I saw the skateboard slide underneath the truck, and as soon as his head hit the floor, the truck's back wheels ran over it."
Elaine, who asked that we only use her first name, added that to her it seemed impossible for the victim to attempt to retrieve his skateboard. "It happened way too fast for that." She said she spoke with police when they arrived, and gave them her contact information. "It's a tragedy. I saw this young person in the last moments of their life."
[UPDATE // 5:15 PM] Yet another eyewitness claims they saw something different. New York Times commenter Geofferwok writes
Both the skateboarder and the truck were moving south on university place. The skateboarder was moving along side the truck. A man on a bicycle riding north on University place caused the skateboarder to swerve into the truck with his board and himself going underneath the vehicle.
The truck driver was not doing anything wrong and probably could not have seen the Boarder who was moving along the right side of the truck. The skateboarder absolutely had not stopped in the street for the purpose of picking up his board.
The proximate cause of the accident was the man on the bicycle who was riding the wrong way on a one way street and who caused the skateboarder to veer into the side of the truck.
The commenter added that they gave the NYPD his contact information.
Spadaque Volcimus contributed reporting to this story.
(Spadaque Volcimus / Gothamist)
(Spadaque Volcimus / Gothamist)
(Spadaque Volcimus / Gothamist)
Tagged
AIS
longboarding
pedestrian fatalities
skateboarding
union square
original
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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