Bicyclist Struck And Killed In Brooklyn, First Cyclist Death Of 2020
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - A bicyclist was struck and killed Thursday afternoon in Brooklyn, police said.
It happened at around 2:40 p.m. at Rewe Street and Vandevoort Avenue in Williamsburg.
Police say a 54-year-old man was driving a flatbed truck northbound on Vandervoort Avenue when he made a U-turn, striking the cyclist.
The truck then went up on the curb and struck an unoccupied parked vehicle, which caused a chain reaction. Three additional unoccupied parked vehicles were also struck and damaged.
The cyclist was rushed to Woodhull Hospital and was later pronounced dead.
The victim has been identified as 41-year-old Pedro Lopez, of Brooklyn.
Transportation Alternatives says this is the first cyclist death of the year. Nearly 30 others were killed in 2019, compared to 10 the year before.
"Transportation Alternatives sends its condolences to the family of the 41-year-old man who was struck and killed by a turning truck driver while biking on Thursday in East Williamsburg. He is the first person killed while biking in New York City in 2020," Transportation Alternatives Executive Director Danny Harris said in a statement. "People who walk and travel by bike are an afterthought on Vandervoort Avenue where this tragic crash took place. Like the streets where most fatal cycling crashes occur, Vandervoort Avenue prioritizes traffic over human life. Since Vision Zero was launched in 2014, 10 cyclists and 10 pedestrians have been injured on the short stretch of Vandervoort Avenue between Grand Street and Maspeth Avenue. Last year, a pedestrian and a motorist were killed in separate crashes at the intersection of Maspeth and Vandervoort, just a block from where this cyclist was killed today."
The truck remained on the scene. Police are investigating.