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MTA Bus Driver Drags Queens Cyclist For Full Block In Fatal Crash
By
Jake Offenhartz
Published Sep 3, 2020
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By
Jake Offenhartz
Published Sep 3, 2020
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A cyclist was killed on Wednesday after he was struck by an MTA bus driver in Queens and dragged for an entire block, police said.
Salvador Chairez-Rodriguez, 50, was riding on 31st Avenue near 51st Street around 11:30 p.m. when he was hit by the driver of a Q18 bus. An NYPD spokesperson said in a statement that the cyclist ran a red light prior to the crash.
"The bicyclist was dragged by the bus until he become dislodged at 32nd Avenue," the police spokesperson said, adding that "the MTA bus continued and was located soon after."
There were no arrests and the investigation remains ongoing. The crash occurred just one mile from Chairez-Rodriguez's home in Woodside.
“This is a terrible tragedy and we are working with the NYPD to investigate,” an MTA spokesperson said in a statement. “Our thoughts are with our bus operator and the family of the cyclist.”
Transportation Alternatives Deputy Director Marco Conner DiAquoi said the deadly collision was the "predictable, preventable" result of Mayor Bill de Blasio's failure to add bike lanes in the area. The group notes that of the ten cyclist fatalities that have happened this year, all but one have occurred on a street without physical protection for bikers.
"We know that protected bike lanes can prevent tragedies like what happened last night in Queens," Conner DiAquoi said in a statement. "Yet the Mayor has halted his own 'Green Wave' plan meant to protect cyclists, and has largely ignored the recommendations of his own Surface Transportation Advisory Council for how to rapidly build a network of connected and protected bike lanes at a low cost."
He added: "In a city where more and more New Yorkers are biking for transportation, Mayor de Blasio has a choice. He can continue to do very little, hobbling New York City’s recovery and letting people die, or he can make space on the road for people on bikes, and end this cycle of predictable, preventable tragedy."
A spokesperson for the Mayor's Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Jake Offenhartz
Jake Offenhartz is a former Gothamist reporter.
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