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E-Bike Rider Killed After Getting Doored Into Traffic By Cab
By
Jake Offenhartz
Published Jan 2, 2019
Modified Jan 2, 2019
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By
Jake Offenhartz
Published Jan 2, 2019
Modified Jan 2, 2019
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A Brooklyn cyclist died on Wednesday after he was launched into traffic by the opening door of a stopped taxi, then fatally struck by another driver, police said.
Hugo Alexander Sinto Garcia, 26, was killed at around 6 a.m. on New Year's Day while riding his electric bicycle through Greenwood Heights in Brooklyn, according to police. A preliminary investigation determined that he was traveling north on Third Avenue when he was struck by the door of a taxi. The impact caused him to fall into the northbound traffic lane, where he was fatally struck by a 53-year-old driver, police said.
Both drivers remained at the scene, and neither was issued a summons or citation by the NYPD. A spokesperson for the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office told Gothamist that an investigation was ongoing. It's unclear whether the door was opened by the taxi driver or a passenger.
While the city's Right-of-Way law could theoretically be applied to "dooring," experts say that it's never been used in that way. Attorney Steve Vacarro, who often represents cyclists, told Gothamist that's because of a "fundamental misunderstanding by the police about the rights of cyclists to travel with the flow of traffic."
The NYPD does not keep track of how many cyclists are killed by people who open car doors. The tragedy is believed to be the first cyclist death of the year. In 2018, the city recorded an all-time low of 10 cyclist fatalities, down from 24 in 2017.
According to safe streets advocates, Garcia's death could have been prevented by the addition of a protected bike lane in the area. "On the stretch of Third Avenue where this crash occurred, there is no dedicated right of way for people on bikes—just three wide lanes for moving cars and trucks, and one lane for storing them," said Joe Cutrufo, a spokesperson for Transportation Alternatives.
"Life-saving measures, like protected bike lanes, must be applied wherever possible and as a matter of policy—not just when it is politically palatable or after a bicyclist has been killed," he added.
Last month, the de Blasio administration boasted that it had added 20.9 miles of protected bike lanes across the five boroughs in 2018—though a closer look later revealed that many of those lanes were not separated from traffic in any meaningful way.
Tagged
cyclist
cyclist death
dooring
e-bikes
Greenwood Heights
Jake Offenhartz
Jake Offenhartz is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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