Two Bicyclists Killed in Separate Incidents

Yesterday morning, two men riding bicycles were killed in separate accidents. Both occurred in Brooklyn. Around 4AM, the a 26-year-old at Union Avenue and Ten Eyck Street in East Williamsburg was hit by an oil truck. WABC reported that he was cycling in the wrong direction. The cyclist, identified as Craig Murphy [sic] who is a member of RightRides, died at the scene. The truck driver was not charged.

Then, in Bedford Stuyvesant, around 6AM, a 25-year-old was hit by a white passenger van at Utica Avenue and Fulton Street. He died at the scene and the van's river was charged with criminally negligent homicide after police determined he was speeding.

A witness told Streetblog how the East Williamsburg intersection was dangerous:

"The intersection is absolutely terrible, people just peel around and often come very close to hitting me or my dog... Actually, all the intersections along Union Avenue in WBurg are like that. It is really, really hard to cross the street. The intersection where this tragedy occurred is a "T" so you can really only cross when the walk light says stop, because no one ever, ever, ever pays attention to the walk signal when they have the green light."

She added that the "bicycle [was] completely flattened under the back left tire" of the truck. Transportation Alternatives executive director Paul Steeley White told amNew York, "Protected street space for cyclists is the surest way to make biking safe. The city must continue to work tirelessly to provide bicyclists with the protections necessary to ensure safe travel."

And there was another terrible death caused by a vehicle: A Cadillac Escalade SUV backed up over a baby - being pushed in a stroller by his grandmother - in Queens. The 8-month-old died at New York Medical Center. The Daily News reports that the police are probably not going to charge the driver, but "It was unclear whether the huge Escalade was equipped with a rearview camera system."

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in News on October 19, 2007 10:02 AM

Comments [rss]

timoth31

My sympathies to the families of the child and poor fellow who got hit by the white passenger van. Things like that do point out the need for better safety and tougher traffic enforcement.

As for Mr. Murphy, let me presume for a moment that he was, in fact, riding the wrong way down a one way street. If so (and ONLY if so: if in truth he was a law-abiding citizen, I retract everything I am about to say), I pointedly withhold my sympathies for him. If he had enough contempt for his own safety and that of his fellow citizens to do that, I'd say he got what he had coming. Frankly, I wish such things would happen to many more of the wrong way bicyclists I see riding home from work in Midtown.

My right to expect that others respect rightful laws depends upon my willingness to do the same. As Pericles put it, in a good society "a spirit of reverence pervades our public acts; we are prevented from doing wrong by respect for the authorities and for the laws, having a particular regard to those which are ordained for the protection of the injured as well as those unwritten laws which bring upon the transgressor of them the reprobation of the general sentiment."

We'll see how much the owner of the oil truck manages to recover from his estate for damages.

dailygrind

this is a heartbreak. totally and completely.

i stopped riding my bike in NYC about three years ago, when in the course of six months, half a dozen friends were seriously injured (mostly by cars, one by a bike messenger). i miss it so much, but these stories keep coming, and it just scares the hell out of me.

i can't believe that SUV isn't being charged. and i think drewo has a point, as does the commenter above who said: "if drivers continue to park, drive, whiz, careen, screech, skid, ram, bam, smash their cars the way they do these days, there will be NO reduction in the carnage and bodily injuries cars inflict."

ccarbs

Riding at 4 am in the morning has nothing to do with it. Maybe Bloomberg should spend some more time getting tankers and trucks off the roads in Brooklyn and generally decreasing traffic at all hours.

Also, that intersection is in WILLIAMSBURG. I've lived on South 4th Street betw Hooper and Hewes Sts for almost 6 years and I hate when folks (who don't know Brooklyn) or real estate agents (who don't know Brooklyn or wanna make $$ off fleeing Manhattanites) label is as "East Williamsburg."

The zip code is 11211!!! Last time I checked, that's Williamsburg. If you want something resembling East WIlliamsburg, head out four or five more stops on the L train. Get a clue, Gothamist!

JenChungsBaby

The guy who was hit by the truck? If what I read in the papers is correct then oh well, riding the wrong way at 4:15 AM maybe he should have been more careful.

But string up the Escalade driver from the nearest tree right now. If you can't see you should get out of the vehicle and go look to see if anyone's coming, and then go slow enough so that if someone does walk by you don't injure them. This prick must have been moving pretty quickly to kill that baby.

jink

this is indeed really sad. I was reading about the guy who got killed in williamsburg (a block from my house) and it seems like he was a really good guy. i don't trust the drivers in this neighborhood. if you ride a bike around here, please don't go the wrong way down any street.

RightRides

Craig will sorely be missed. He was one of a kind: a caring and generous guy with a heart of gold, who worked so hard to fight injustices and build safer communities. Our condolences to his family.

dbc

#3 and #6, I believe that the sidewalk in this case was a public right of way; in order to enter or exit the parking lot from the roadway, vehicles must cross over the sidewalk.

kadeedy

Wasn't someone killed on their bike about a year ago in that same stretch of Union? I know a friend of mine was hit right there but survived...but I thought I remembered something else a while ago.

So fucking sad.

drewo

One problem is that law enforcement too closely identifies with the people who would be charged. The cops happen upon a scene where the "alleged" perpetrator is often just like them - not a common criminal, but a common schmo who drives an SUV - just like many of the cops themselves. They subconsciously identify with the driver - hell, it could just as easily be an off-duty cop recklessly driving about - and they lean towards treating the incident as an "accident".

Whereas the incident could objectively be viewed as carelessness, reckless disregard, or involuntary manslaughter.

MarygraceNYC

It is just as scary on a motorcycle. That is why it is so hard to ride in the city. Those SUV's with teeny tiny women driving hardly able to see over the steering wheel. Especially at schools around 3 o’clock.

Unless riding 2 wheeled vehicles becomes more popular in this city, people driving cars/trucks will not change their attitudes.

My Sympathy to the families.

ptwnbkr

As helpful as inmproved cycling infrastructure may be for enhancing cyclist's safety, it CAN only be as beneficial as the law allows it. check out:

http://www.streetsblog.org/2007/10/09/truck-drivers-confusing-new-cycle-track-for-unloading-zone/#comments

If drivers continue to park, drive, whiz, careen, screech, skid, ram, bam, smash their cars the way they do these days, there will be NO reduction in the carnage and bodily injuries cars inflict.

Increased enforcement of existing laws that are supposed to curb reckless driving, etc. would also go a long way toward increasing pedestrian safety. This means charging drivers when they hit someone. As many have argued, when it comes to automobile crashes, there is no such thing as an "accident." Why? For one thing, drivers can go a long way to prevent these things from happening by looking and slowing down. Issuing those drivers speeding tickets on streets, such as Riverside Drive on Friday nights, would be a great start!

Monster_mash

OK, this is awful news all-around, but we need not add insult to injury. And while this normally does not bother me and I tire of the endless snide comments, I propose the following exercise: community copy-editing.

Here are my offerings:

"the a 26-year-old at Union Avenue and Ten Eyck Street in East Williamsburg was hit by an oil truck."

=

"a 26-year-old man was hit by an oil truck at Union Avenue and Ten Eyck Street in East Williamsburg."

"who is a member RightRides"=

"who is a member of RightRides"

"the van's river"="the van's driver"

gttim

I am confused! The SUV hit the stroller on the sidewalk and the driver is not going to be charged? At what point did the police start thinking that the SUVs have right of way on the freakin' sidewalk? Yet another reason I think almost all cops are idiots!

tanyacska

West Harlem Action Network Against Poverty.

My bad.

tanyacska

Murphey. There is more information on williamsboard.com and I believe folks are making donations to West Harlem Poverty Action Network (I hope I have that right) where Craig worked.

Why does anyone even HAVE an Escalade in NYC? Completely senseless.

gfrance

An giant SUV crushes a baby in stroller ON THE SIDEWALK, and no charges are to be filed? What don't I get here? Vehicles, of any size, aren't allowed on the sidewalk. Period.

Rocknrope

That Escalade story is terribly sad, and I feel like some fault needs to be with the driver. I don't have a huge SUV, but I make sure I back out slowly enough so that if I can't see someone, I'm moving slow enough so I won't kill them. How fast was this guy backing out of his space that the grandmother didn't have time to react or yell "Watch it!"