DJ Killed In Greenpoint After Struck On Bike

Ms. Raulston's family is interested in exploring whether there is a basis for a wrongful death suit. We are now looking for eyewitnesses to the accident or anyone who was present at the scene of the accident in its immediate aftermath. Please leave your contact info in email to davepagl@gmail.com. Thanks for caring. Dave.

Fuck the fucking was she wearing a helmet or was she not wearing a helmet!. I am OUTRAGED that this truck driver saw fit to drive so obliviously without care & attention, she could have been wearing a fucking diving suit but the fact is HE HIT HER. The young lady that was hit & has died was a very old childhood friend of mine who's sister i grew-up with in South east London & this driver has Devastated thier lives thru his reckless behaviour. i happen to be a Central London Bus Driver & I am fully aware of people ignorance I as a rule don't cycle on the roads due to the fact you cannot controll other peoples action which are generally stupid. I pride myself on my driving & yes everybody makes mistakes but by the way IT'S CALLED A WING MIRROR!! I feel the need to vent my frustration I was not there obviously & Im sure if this driver has a soul he will never forgive himself & he shouldn't London Roads are different from New Yorks obviously but I can imagine they are just as busy. My very old friend has lost her life & seeing off the whim comments has stress me out so if I have offended anyone I oppologise but I feel the need to point out she is not a statistic she was a warm wonderfull person someone you could only be blessed to meet & her life has been taken by someone driving like a total prat. Roxane England.

Your wrong "Green" . Cyclist do not have the same rights ! Lets apply common sense here, Car/Truck/Bus/Tractor-trailer, Verses Cyclist . Cyclist loses !

Also, I seen an MTA bus speeding down Bedford Ave with a bicyclist in front of it honking it's horn at the person. The bus was literally a foot away! The bus had no need to speed considering it was stopping right there.

I also had a car service driver pin me with his car into another car on the side of the road. I asked him to move a little to the right because he was blocking the bike lane at a red light. He yelled "Get on the sidewalk" which is illegal and then moved his car to the right and pinned me. WTF is wrong with people. Don't drive if you can't handle traffic in this city. RIDE A BIKE!

First off, I live in the area and cars/trucks speed through the streets of Greenpoint especially where they cross McGuinness to make the light.

2nd. Bicyclists have the same rights to the roads and the same laws as vehicles. Lazy ass car drivers need to respect them and not shove them to the side of the road.

I'm sure the driver saw her and speed past anyway. He should go to jail.

what will happen to the person who killed her???

i drive and ride in this insane city. people get away with murder, really.

she was run down, and you wanna discuss bike lanes and the flow of traffic??

she was getting herself to where she was going, and run down, oh well the system that we live in says...??? you CAN run down a person on a bicycle, i'm sure they were in YOUR LANE! sick. sick. sick.

You gotta ride assertive in this city, take a lane, make yourself seen. If you can't do that, get onto smaller streets where you can. Sad news, as an avid cyclist and former car owner in Manhattan I can say you learn from doing both...when it's raining at night, behind the windshield, I can barely see someone crossing right in front of me wearing black, with all the lights reflecting off the wet pavement, wipers going, other cars passing, etc...and I can't tell you how many times someone thought nothing of darting in front of my turning car...walking or on bikes...they were lucky I wasn't going faster or had a couple drinks in me.

you asshole, i was saving that same speech for when you got hit by a car

Well McCunty, if I were to go walking through a freeway the speech would be well deserved. As I currently only walk between buildings and my car I don't think Ill die by car anytimem soon. In the meantime, gooooooooooooooo Fuck Yourself.

This is extremely sad. My thoughts and prayers go out to her friends, family and loved ones...

I am so tired of seeing this. In person on the news. What a tragedy.

If you insist on riding your bike in bike un-friendly NYC

WEAR A HELMET! WEAR A HELMET! WEAR A HELMET!!!!!!!!!

Such terrible news. I believe she was always on N. 6th and Bedford flyering for Artists & Fleas.

RIP, damn good DJ, a serious loss. Don't want to waste time pointing fingers to blame, just be safe out there.

So as scumbaggy as this sounds, where did she get that knit beret, looks awesome, wouldn't mind getting one.

Her's might be available.

Anyone riding on Nassau during busy traffic should take the whole lane. Ride right down the middle of the lane. It's too narrow for cars to pass. Stop for red lights. Never try to creep through the red light at McGuiness. Wear a helmet and use lights at night, despite how unfashionable it may be.

:(

it's so sad to see such an attractive woman go like this.

Would you feel better about it if she was less attractive?

-In response to some of the comments about bike lanes:

I ride down bowery to work every day, and honestly, riding in a bike lane is about the most dangerous thing you can do, since the cabs and delivery trucks double park in the bike lane anyway, pedestrians jaywalk between cars, and people open doors into the street. Not to mention cab drivers seem to think the bike lane is a turn lane.

I obey the lights and wear a helmet, but I also ride in the middle of the road. I live and work in Manhattan, and probably pay more tax than most of the people in the silly cars - they can deal with it.

Really, there shouldn't be cars or cabs in Manhattan at all. It slows down the buses and deliveries and pollutes the air for no justifiable reason. Lazy ass people and their cars, everyone's lives would be better off without them.

agreed: bike lanes are dangerous, so better to claim your space in the road.

Damn! She's hot!

Or was, anyway.

Sad. :( :( :(

I never met Solange but her passing has deeply touched some friends of mine who knew her. I am very sad for her passing and for seeing my friends mourn her with a lot of pain in their hearts.

The odds of dying from external causes seem wildly exacerbated when the subject is a DJ.

Just say "no" to turntables, kids -- it leads to nothing (and I do mean nothing) good.

Very sad. RIP.

As the News article noted, it was raining buckets around that time. When you're driving in heavy rain in city traffic, you barely know what the hell's going on - glaring headlights, blurred vision awash in gray, barely adequate windshield wipers, fogged glass, rain pounding on the roof. People shouldn't drive in weather like that, but they do.

Bikes have it a little better in terms of vision and being able to react, but there's still the real risk of brake failure and skidding out. (And if you wear glasses, forget it.)

Fellow cyclists: if it's raining in the city and you can walk instead, do it. If you gotta bike take the usual precautions but ride as if every driver around you is drunk, 'cause in heavy rain they're as good as. (And of course, obey the lights & stop signs, signal, and wear a helmet.)

Excellent points. I don't ever ride in the rain for the reasons you give (and also because it kinda sucks). I probably would've gone to the Bedford Ave. thing if it hadn't been for the rain, even though I live in West Harlem.

R.I.P. , Tragic.

what sucks is having to read this story each week. I am also a cyclist in the city and can't imagine how a truck could not see a cyclist on this road unless the idiot behind that wheel was either texting or scratching his balls. there is no excuse for a driver that high up to not see any cyclist on the street.

while somebody made a point about riding down the middle of a street so the drivers can see you, if they are going really fast, it will be too late before they even see you. your best bet? avoid streets that are heavily populated w/ trucks. I always make a point to make it known if I have to ride near a truck by bell and my loud mouth.

and yes, iPods... only a novice city rider would be dumb enough to trade up their safety to tune into the blues. your ears are also your eyes while you ride.

the city should invest in a program that teaches cyclists in Williamsburg (and the rest of the city) the importance of wearing helmets because those of us who ride through know that you can't even keep count of how many cyclists in that hood trade vanity for safety.

R.I.P. :(

"I am also a cyclist in the city and can't imagine how a truck could not see a cyclist on this road unless the idiot behind that wheel was either texting or scratching his balls. there is no excuse for a driver that high up to not see any cyclist on the street."

Some studies have shown that automobile drivers for whatever reason react only to similar objects, namely cars. Their brains don't "see" anything smaller, including bicycles and even motorcycles.

awwwwww man...

"The driver was not charged." Why bother saying it? They're never charged. It's a disgrace, this carnage that takes place on our streets all day, every day. They should use this poor girl's blood to repaint the Bedford Ave bike lane.

I have a car and a bike, and honestly each one really does inform the other. When I am driving, I'm constantly surprised by some of the things bikers do. When I'm on the bike, I'm amazed at how bad some drivers are. I think part of the problem is that people in cars expect car behavior, and people on bikes expect cars to be aware of them. If everyone did both, I think there would be fewer accidents. At the end of the day though, cyclists need to be extra vigilant. Even if that's not fair, it's just the way it is in this city. Until things change, please don't go through red lights. Please don't ride on the sidewalk. And seriously, NO IPOD while biking. I'm not saying accidents are the fault of the biker (in many cases, they are not.) I'm just saying that there is a lot of erratic behavior on both sides and a biker will always lose in a car vs. bike collision.

Before you yell at me, yes of course there is also a long list of "don'ts" for drivers as well. They're just not the ones getting killed by bikes.

"If everyone did both" in NYC there would be twice as many cars on the road.

Actually, I was thinking about it the other way around. There would be twice as many BIKES on the road.

Seriously, once you get out of Manhattan, NYC becomes very much a dense, vehicular town. Travel two miles into Brooklyn or Queens and you will see thousands of cars, very few bikes.

I agree about the car and bike perspectives informing the other. I am way more careful in my car than I was before I began cycling. At the same time, I see how dangerously some cyclists behave.

The helmet naysayers are another breed that I don't understand. I am willing to be a lot of money that she wasn't wearing a helmet, and that one would have saved her. If she was alive but non-responsive like the article says, it sounds like some kind of brain/spinal injury. This is New York, not Amsterdam. Wear a friggin' helmet.

people wear helmets in Amsterdam.

Well said. It wasn't until I drove a rental car in Manhattan that I realized how invisible bikes can be to drivers. Now, this is not excusing bad car behavior in any way, but if you are going to be out there on a bike, doing so without a helmet or lights (and while listening to your iPod!) is just a really stupid thing to do.

I wonder if the driver was on his cell phone or texting like many drivers do. What a sad story; may she rest in peace.

That reeks of blaming the killer.

I would say 95% of the bike accidents and near accidents I have seen in the Williamsburg/Greenpoint area have been the fault of the biker. I am not saying that was the case here, but given the fact that the driver was not charged with anything and the general reckless nature of bike riders in the neighborhood, I think it is unfair to go blaming the driver.

With that said, people who use cell phones/text while driving deserve to be thrown in jail.

I always wear a helmet. And if at any point, i feel i don't have room between traffic and parked cars...I take the driving lane. Many times it let me maneuver out of a sticky situation...and i can go about as fast as the cars on the side street anyway.

What a shame.

I'm a daily bike commuter and I always where I helmet.

But, I do know, if I were to die on the city streets, it'd be by either (1) an Access-a-Ride; or by (2) a livery truck.

Poor girl got hit by a truck, side swiped too. I hope they charge the guy. His inattentiveness cost this woman her life. He should lose at least 5 years of freedom.

I copied this from a post on the ny post site

"

Only 1% of New York State federal transportation funds are spent on pedestrian infrastructure, an average of $0.73 per person. New York State ranks 44th in the nation for federal spending on walking and biking. The NYC metropolitan area receives only $0.61 per person in federal funds for pedestrian and bike facilities, well below the meager $1.39 spent per person for metro areas nationwide.

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/brooklyn/dj_killed_on_bike_in_brooklyn_r2RNgG7ClrMDHTyxNBs15H#ixzz0ZgJ7QaTd

"

People, it's not that bad out there.

Yeah, there's accidents all the time, and yeah, you should wear your helmet, especially in Brooklyn, which really does make Manhattan seem like a polite and patient place. But the reason there's an uptick in reported bicycle accidents is simply because there are so many bikers out on the streets these days.

Be vigilant. Assume everyone is out to get you. Don't take stupid risks. Do use lights, helmets, and bells.

Tragedies happen whether you're biking or crossing the street. But all in all, New York is a very bike-friendly city.

I don't know if I agree with you on this. The *more cyclists* that are now out there aren't experienced and seasoned... and they aren't the ones we've been hearing about getting into fatal accidents. It's been mostly avid commuters.

NYC supposedly a first world city!?

How is that there is no decent and secure bike paths for bikes ONLY!?

More and more humans will be riding bikes, because is sustainable and promotes health, so fighting progress is only reserved for the worse of society!

SAD, that this happened just because there isn't progress in NYC!? Shithole!

New York is too big to have everyone riding bikes. There are often thousands of people in one building. Where would all of the bikes go? I lived in Copenhagen. It is a much less dense city. Entire areas of the city a pedestrian only. You can't compare the two.

It is too dangerous. Improved MTA is what we need. Take it from these losers that are running it now.

Funny, there was a story on CBS that 100 years ago they NYPD had to create a special biking division becuase all the cyclists were creating problems and making it dangerous to pedestrians.

"New York is too big to have everyone riding bikes" ---but not too big to have everyone driving cars?? Yes, improved MTA would help, and so would improved bike safety measures. More people on foot and on two wheels will use less space and clog the streets less than cars, cabs and the parking required of them both.

public transport is an excellent option, but how difficult is to even make it clean, safe or even reliable?!

Taxis seem to be the one reliable way of transportation in NYC (and i have had better taxi service in the developing world than in the city, this is calling a phone and having a yellow taxi -not a limo type of car- picking you up in less than 10 minutes anytime anywhere!)

Riding a bike is a self-suficient, reliable economical, sustainable, ETC, way of transport!

but having to deal with the barbaric inflexible rules of motor vehicle behavior is just to much for some to take on biking.

progress seems impossible when the mentality is static,

even when the benefits are so obvious

Not impossible for the progressive!

http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/010880.html

in copenhagen and the surrounding areas they have very clear ideas of where people can build and how many people the area can take based on the infrastructure.

they dont let the area population double like in GREENPOINT with no new parks, schools, roads or hospitals. if as part of all the land development in the north bklyn area they considered the impact and put aside space for bike lanes, roads, etc - then yes you can have a BETTER and sustainable neighborhood. Instead and I have watched this happen bit by bit, year by year the city just lets land developers come in - proift and alter the area in terms of congestion than we'll always be fcked the way we are.

Cmon...it's an old city. There's no feasible way to put bike lanes on that street.

its just a lack of imagination that keeps you seeing it.

instead of another high rise with luxary condos the city could make a public parking lot and convert the metered parking on nassau to a bike lane. I know, thats impossible. Somehow if its luxary condos or basketball stadiums anything is possible, but of you suggest anything for the good of community it cant be done. no imagination, thats what holds us back.

the cities in europe with good bike lanes are far older. if every space in the city wasnt being used to make land developers rich a lot of great things could be done here.

Okay, arm chair city planner. Are we going to make every road in Brooklyn one way and eliminate any double sided parking? The density in some neighborhoods is probably just as bad as European cities, and our public transit is very different.

Actually, there is plenty of room on McGuiness blvd for a bike lane. It's two lanes in each direction plus a parking lane and large shrub filled medians. You could narrow the garden in the median, narrow the median, or lose the parking to make room for a bike lane. I actually don't think it's particularly safe for a street that busy to have parking anyway. It would also help with visibility. I saw an older woman hit by a turning truck on that same intersection last summer and she was just crossing the street when she had the walk signal.

this is sooo sad and I didn't even know her.

I see people riding bikes in the city inches from bumper to bumper traffic and it scares me.

I started daily riding/commuting in the early eighties and it didn't seem this bad. maybe I was younger, who knows?

I never felt scared riding then, why now?

This story breaks my heart. I don't know if she was wearing a helmet or not but *Please people ALWAYS wear a helmet*. I stop people all the time who aren't wearing helmets and tell them about the accidents I've been in that weren't my fault. Most likely I wouldn't have survived any of them without my helmet.

sad. nassau ave is mega dangerous. especially around mcguiness which is 4 lane highway like avenue. Its safer to ride on driggs or the smaller avenues nearby.

sad. the driver may not have seen her. it easy to not see a biker when you're driving. we need elevated bike lanes like they have in copenhagen. its hard to picture that happening when people are fighting painted bike lanes, but thats what we need. sad.

was she wearing a helmet?

I have a better question. Was she wearing headphones at the time? I see so many people just cruising along blasting music in their ears oblivious to everything. Not saying she was but just asking.

For those of you who are wondering about the helmet issue...Solange didn't die from the impact, she died from the trauma..her sweet fragile heart couldn't hold up. Love you sweet Solange.

Of course cyclists should wear helmets -- but helmets will not protect you in all crashes. We're talking here about a woman who was sideswiped by a flatbed truck.

A helmet will protect your head in a mild crash. It will not protect the rest of your body, and it will not prevent a driver from endangering you with reckless speed, inattention, etc.

Leaping to the "Was she wearing a helmet" question reeks of blaming the victim.

No, it doesn't reek of blaming the victim. It's a good question and one that I was wondering too.

eliotrosewater- get over yourself. the question "reeks" of honesty. I'm not blaming her for her death, however, i too have noticed that a LOT of casual cyclists don't wear helmets. I"m not saying the truck wasn't at fault- i have no idea who was. However, helmets save lives, and yeah, maybe she still would have gotten injured, but maybe she'd also still be breathing.



or not. maybe she was wearing a helmet. I DON"T KNOW. THAT'S WHY I ASKED.

I was wondering the same thing. I see way too many people riding around Brooklyn without helmets on. Do they think that because the traffic is slower that it's not necessary? Or perhaps it just doesn't look cool with their nifty outfits? I always wear mine- a head injury is garunteed to make you look stupider than the helmet.

Nothing like sitting down with your first cup of coffee on a Monday morning and drinking in the wild, uninformed speculation that is a Manhattan cycling incident on Gothamist. Comforting.

Yeah, pardon us for being human...

Human is good. I'm actually talking more about things like, oh, I don't know...

"The drivers with 4+ wheels are just too dangerous and crazy."

"Probably thought he could pass her without hitting her."

"wouldn't a flatbed truck have a greater ability to see what's on the sides?"

Oh yeah, the driving I see in Manhattan is the epitome of careful, cautious driving. I can watch out my window and see cabs swerving around pedestrians who have the right-of-way and city buses running multiple lights as they speed down the avenue. And those are the drivers that presumably don't have, say, a suspended license. Clearly, I must be exaggerating the fear of NYC drivers which has prevented me from biking in the city!

Nassau Ave is in Manhattan now?

Morons.

wouldn't a flatbed truck have a greater ability to see what's on the sides?

My question is what was the truck driver's reason for sideswiping her? Did she get in his way and he didn't see her until she was on the ground or something?

Cyclists please be careful... wear your helmets and try to avoid busy streets especially when they DO NOT have a bike lane. Drivers please over estimate the amount of room you give cyclists.

It's sad news when a cyclist gets killed, and sadder still that drivers are never held accountable for the reckless driving that causes these accidents.

On a narrow side street with a red light at the end of a block, cyclists should consider riding in the middle of the road, which prevents cars from passing them. I started doing this after getting fed up with having trucks and vans burst past me, only to catch up with them moments later at a red light. Just try not to be a jerk about it.

Also, absolutely always avoid busy two-way streets whenever possible.

Bike safe!

Probably thought he could pass her without hitting her. There doesn't seem to be a bike lane on that street section, but it doesn't look like there is enough space for a truck and a bike to fit side by side.

Wow. Sad. RIP

How sad. Reminds me why I don't ride a bike in this city, as fun as it might be. Too risky.

I still ride/commute to work on my bike everyday! Yes, it is risky, but not when you are smart about it. Wear a helmet, keep alert, keep away from busy streets, be careful. These are guidelines that can easily be followed to stay safe. Cyclists have a right on the road in the city, and they shouldn't be discouraged and give in just because of these incidents. We hope that in the future the roads WILL be safer, but it won't happen if there aren't "activists"!

It's always risky. It's the truck you never see that hits you.

Agreed. It doesn't matter how many bike lanes are painted on the streets, city streets are a dangerous place to ride. I like riding my bike, but am against "cycling activists" because is irresponsible to encourage the average jane or joe to cycle here; injury and death will result.

So, rather than have these activists fight to make it safer for the Average Joe or Jane to bike, you'd rather they just not because it's not safe? Yeah, that makes a whole lot of sense...

Yep. I love bike riding, but I don't do it here. I definitely love being alive more than riding around on 2 wheels. The drivers with 4+ wheels are just too dangerous and crazy.