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Cyclist Dies In Harlem After Hit-And-Run With Truck Driver
By
Elizabeth Kim
Published Nov 11, 2019
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By
Elizabeth Kim
Published Nov 11, 2019
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A 25-year-old male cyclist died in the predawn hours of Saturday morning after he was struck by a dump truck driver who made an illegal turn in East Harlem and then fled from the scene.
Police on Monday were yet to release the identity of the victim, but family members have said the cyclist was Matt Travis, a rising professional wrestler who trained in Queens. The death marks the 28th cyclist fatality of the year in New York City.
A preliminary police report said the driver, who was behind a Kenworth dump truck, was traveling southbound on First Avenue and made an illegal left turn onto East 125th Street in an attempt to enter the Willis Avenue Bridge. The cyclist, who had also been moving southbound, was coming off a bike path from the bridge.
At around 2:30 a.m., police responded to a 911 call of a motor vehicle collision and found the cyclist lying on the roadway with severe body trauma. He was taken to Harlem Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
As Streetsblog pointed out, signs on the roadway where the driver had been clearly showed that the only legal turn was a right onto 125th Street.
A memorial was set up at the site of the crash, and tributes to Travis have been pouring in on social media.
Travis had been training for an upcoming wrestling match on Saturday night, according to WCBS2.
“This is not going to go quietly, I want to bring a lot of awareness so that this doesn’t happen to anybody else,” Yolanda Nieves, Travis's mother told the television news outlet.
She included a message for the driver, saying, “I hope that you, when you close your eyes and go to sleep at night, you see my son’s lifeless body that you left on the street. I hope that haunts you for the rest of your life."
Tagged
east harlem
hit and run
truck collision
harlem
cycling deaths
Elizabeth Kim
Elizabeth Kim is a reporter on the People and Power desk who covers mayoral power. She previously covered the pandemic, housing, redevelopment and public spaces. A native of Queens, she speaks fluent Mandarin. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
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