Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Tourist On Bicycle Killed By Truck Driver After Being Forced Out Of CPW Bike Lane
By
Jen Chung
Published Aug 11, 2018
Modified Aug 11, 2018
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Courtesy of West Side Rag
By
Jen Chung
Published Aug 11, 2018
Modified Aug 11, 2018
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
A 23-year-old woman visiting NYC from Australia was fatally struck by a private sanitation truck driver on the Upper West Side on Friday afternoon. She had been in the bike lane, but had to swerve out of it when a livery cab suddenly blocked it, according to police.
Madison Jane Lyden, a swim teacher from Geelong, was on a rented bicycle and biking north in the Central Park West bike lane just before 4:45 p.m. when a parked black Toyota livery car suddenly "pulled out into the bike lane," police say. Lyden then swerved out of the bike lane around 66th Street and into regular traffic—and was then struck by the private sanitation truck driver, also going north.
A witness told the Daily News, "She flew and hit the concrete on her head." Another witness added that Lyden had been with a friend, who "was shouting, ‘Baby, baby, baby, wake up."
Lyden was taken to Roosevelt Hospital where she was pronounced dead.
Both the livery cab and truck drivers remained at the scene. The truck driver, Felipe Chairez, 44, was arrested for DWI; beer cans were reportedly found in his vehicle. WABC 7 reports, "According to the co-owner of Central Park Sightseeing, Lyden was with another woman on vacation, and rented bikes from City Hall. The two reportedly rode around Lower Manhattan on Thursday, and enjoyed it so much that they decided to tour Central Park and the Upper West Side on a bike on Friday."
Mayor de Blasio said, "Of course there has to be a full investigation, but this is an example from my point of view of the danger of reckless driving."
"Madison Jane Lyden is dead because her bike lane was blocked," Transportation Alternatives Executive Director Paul Steely White said in a statement. "It’s tragic, yes, but all the more unconscionable because this was a crash waiting to happen. Every day in this city, bike lanes meant to protect people on bikes are used as drop-off lanes, parking lanes, and idling lanes for lazy and entitled drivers. As a city we should be ashamed, because this death could have been prevented. More and more people are traveling by bike in our city, and they need safe, protected space. And while we have more protected lane-miles today than ever before, this preventable death underscores the need for every major street in New York City to have a safe, protected space to travel by bike."
Tagged
bike lane
central park west
cis
fatal cis
madison jane lyden
Upper West Side
vision zero
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
We were the victim': Brooklyn shelter's new CEO speaks after corruption scandal
The new leader acknowledges BHRAGS Home Care lacked basic financial and compliance systems as its city shelter contracts ballooned.
By
Ryan Kost
Published Oct 2, 2026 at 8:00 a.m. ET
Badly burned body found in a trashed and abandoned Jamaica Queens lot, NYPD says
The remains belonged to a man officials have yet to identify.
By
Brittany Kriegstein
News
Badly burned body found in a trashed and abandoned Jamaica Queens lot, NYPD says
The remains belonged to a man officials have yet to identify.
By
Brittany Kriegstein
Brooklyn DA brings back warrant-clearing event as quality-of-life tickets surge
By
Ben Feuerherd
Hochul names NY AG James as special prosecutor on rape case at Cornell University
By
Jon Campbell
Founder of NYC LGBTQ therapy practice charged with rape after alleged sexual assaults
By
Giulia Heyward
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .