Updated: School Bus Was In Reverse When It Killed Cyclist In LES

very sad, could have been prevented by both the city and the bussing company.

Cyclist should demand PROTECTED BIKE LANES!!!

Fucked up. How come these drivers never get charged for running over people?

I've said this a hundred times . People should not being riding along side traffic ! It's just to risky and drivers (For the most part ) are dumb-asses who think the road belongs to them and have first rights to it ! I see them everyday going to work, and home . They weave in and out of lanes speeding through red lights, Drive aggressively . Until the city decide to do what they did on the bike lane over by the brooklyn, and Manhattan Bridges forget about saftey ! We as a society are basically retarded and need those "Training Wheels" to keep us inline and on the proper path ! Sorry if the term "Retarded" Offends anyone but it's true !

yes I have seen cars speeding right through red lights there just before the bridge, just as I was about to cross the road to go south onto Clinton. I was like W. . F.???? can they not SEE The red light? or are they just choosing to ignore it? I think that the traffic light there is not visible to drivers. Perhpaps we should call 311 to alert the city of this problem.

I am very shaken by this accident. It is horrible, and yes, I DO think a bike lane would somewhat mitigate things like this happening. but it was an accident. and I am sure that the driver feels terrible about what happened. I ride that route all the time, and it couldve been me, though I never fall off my bike. Ever.

Isn't there a traffic cop at the bridge during rush hour?

when I used to commute via the bridge there was usually a cop at the Manhattan side.

Going eastbound, I usually stay on the south side of Delancey and wait south of the little traffic islands btwn Norfolk and the bridge until there are red lights and I can cross Delancey to get on the bridge. The amazing (and dangerous) thing is that many vehicles DO NOT STOP at the red lights and just make a run for the bridge. Incredibly dangerous for bikes and pedestrians and it happens all the time.

I've had to deal with the Atlantic Express douche bags for years. Do they all do their drivers' ed at Rikers?

A bus operated by Atlantic Express killed a cyclist in 2008 too:

http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/36/31_36_sp_bike_deaths.html

Damn, I was headed down Ludlow and crossed Delancey at around 5:30 wondering what the traffic and cops around was about.

An unmarked suv cop car went north on Ludlow south of Delancey as I reached the corner on my bicycle. There were a group of cops sort of shaking their heads. I asked them if I could proceed south on the block and they pointed for me to take the sidewalk. I think I understand why they said that aside from the unmarked car going the wrong way on the block.

This was the worst news I've heard all day considering that I live in the neighborhood and ride that block almost daily.

How tragic. My sympathies to her friends and family.

Come on. A bike lane wouldn't do anything to stop this sort of situation. The bus driver would have probably done the exact same thing whether or not the bike lane was there or not.

Bike lanes are simply psychological comfort zones for cyclists unless completely divided off from the cars. They don't stop anyone driving from doing whatever they damn well want to do.

Good point. The bus wouldn't have had any second thoughts about driving, parking, and backing up in a bike lane (unless it were the protected kind, but that ain't coming to Delancey anytime soon...)

I drive firetrucks in the city and every time I backup the rig someone if not everyone gets out and watches my back, blocks traffic, or whatever. Where was the assistant, or matron on the bus. Sad.

this was Atlantic Express, isn't this the bus company who forgets a student was on the bus when the route was finished.

I notice that with firetrucks, they ALWAYS have guys jump out and make sure there's room.

if there was a glare it could've been from the disgusting big blue building overlooking delancey on norfolk st. hey maybe that's where all the money to fix the streets is going. into development of big ugly yuppie buildings. so why was the bus in reverse ?

The city paid to develop that building? I'm doubting that's true...

Very sad.

the city has to get real about protecting bikers. spend some real money. make some real changes. bikes are a great part of the cities future. these callous a-holes who are out of touch with the people have to step up already and dedicate real estate to bikers.

It's also horrible that the girl's body is lying unattended on the cold pavement. I know someone will say they have to leave the body there for whatever report they need to do but it just seems callous. How sad. Was she injured from her fall and unable to move if she saw the bus backing? Also, I have often almost lost it on my bike after hitting deep potholes that are hidden by glare or shadows, I have learned to keep a very firm grip on the bars so that when I unexpectedly hit a big bump I maintain control of the bike.

i'm still waiting for my answers ...

I was stuck behind a van once that backed up and didn't see me. I was on my motorcycle on the bottom of a him, kinda hard for me to back up. he was right at my front wheel and even honking was not enough for him to notice.

only when other cars honked did he stop.

the reason why he backed up? he drove past the pedestrian walkway line. something not uncommon in this city.

that should be "hill" not him.

gah; i walked by the scene of the accident at 630 pm, and i had no idea what happened, i only saw a commotion of traffic, nypd directing people all over, and a school bus with yellow tape wrapped around it. how sad. this accident reminds me of this article from a couple of weeks ago.

delancey street and so many others are in such a state of disrepair and why aren't they being fixed ? WHY THE FUCK WAS THE BUS GOING IN REVERSE ?

Delancey leading on/off the bridge is a disaster. The bike lane in the middle seems like a good idea, but it abruptly ends/starts. The bikes have nowhere to be other than in heavy traffic, and if they are where they are supposed to be (on the right) they have to fight all the way across to get on bridge. Plus it is a truck route, bad news all around. Poor woman.

" . . . and if they are where they are supposed be (on the right) they have to fight all the way across to get on [the] bridge"

So true. I remember my first time I took it, I was like, WTF, is this really how I'm supposed to get on the bridge. And if you get stopped at a red, on the way to the on-ramp from Manhattan side, you get this feeling, that you're in the front row of an autorace, except, you're on a bike, with like 40 rows of cars behind you.

i'm pretty sure delancey street is the only way onto/off of the williamsburg bridge bike path, no? in which case her compromised safety wasn't so much her choice but rather an unfortunate circumstance. by the sound of it, her death was horrifying and gruesome enough as it is... let's not question whether she could have prevented it, but instead focus on the safety of the many bike riders who are forced to take this route. (for the record, i'm not one of them... i'm one of the runners that they like to yell at... hah)

I knew someone who died the exact same way at the exact same intersection years ago. Awful that they still haven't brought it up to par and fixed the road a little.

I'm not blaming the victim here, but I'm always confused as to why people choose to ride down unsafe streets when there are much safer, far less trafficed ones that run parallel. Sure, there should be a bike lane there, but there isn't and until there is protect yourself by being smart.

She was probably riding on that street to get where she was going. It's not complicated. Streets are for riding, driving etc to go places.

Of course, streets are for riding/cycling where you are going. But again, you'd be a fool to think that just because you are entitled to go wherever you like then you should take whatever route you prefer. That's silly, and obviously dangerous. Get the maps, know the area - do your homework, and stop pretending that just because you're entitled to a safe journey that you'll have one no matter what.

My condolences go out to this woman's friends and family. Simply tragic.

So one would think, right?

If there are safer alternatives, then yah.

But, for the same reason all the cars get on Delancy, is the same reason why many of the bikers do, which is, there aren't any real safe AND functional alternatives.

If you're taking the bridge, you have to get on/off Delancy at some point. And the streets parallel to Delancy on the NorthSide(Rivington/Stanton) aren't convenient if you're heading north. If you're heading south, then you can take Clinton to Pike then wherever, but that's really inconvenient if you need to head further West.

But yah, anybody passing through there around morning/evening rush see's what a clusterf-ck that area is. But, you have to go there if you're gonna take the bridg.e

"the streets parallel to Delancy on the NorthSide(Rivington/Stanton) aren't convenient if you're heading north. If you're heading south, then you can take Clinton to Pike then wherever, but that's really inconvenient if you need to head further West."

Sorry, but I have a hard time getting behind that. When you say "convenient" I assume (and correct me if I'm wrong) that you mean "it'll get you where you're going in less time." That attitude on Delancy Street will get you killed. Find the safest, fastest route to get where you're going, with "safest" being about a million times more important than "fastest". If you have to ride a couple of blocks out of the way then so be it - you do. Riding on Delancy is akin to riding on a busy highway on/off ramp - people are focused on merging to get on/off the bridge.

Why was the school bus backing up in the first place?

And why doesn't it have a back-up alarm like almost every other large vehicle?

"And why doesn't it have a back-up alarm "

I don't see any reason to think that it did not. The witness account says she was trying to get out of the way, in other words she knew the bus was backing up.

Delancey leading on/off the bridge is a disaster. The bike lane in the middle seems like a good idea, but it abruptly ends/starts. The bikes have nowhere to be other than in heavy traffic, and if they are where they are supposed to be (on the right) they have to fight all the way across to get on bridge. Plus it is a truck route, bad news all around. Poor woman.

Maybe he though he was on her, and that's why he backed up.

Not just backing up, but backing up without looking and killing someone. I realize NYPD are lazy, but how can they possibly justify no charges against the driver?

OK one, the bus more than likely had a loud backin up alarm. Two, Anyone who has ever been in a vehicle realizes that large machines like buses and trucks have a wide blindspot in the rear and sides. This is why drivers avoid being at the rear of a truck, especially at night.

So no, the bus driver isn't to blame, More than likely the biker didn't notice the bus backing up until it was too late and rammed right into it.

Yes, the bus driver is to blame. It's his responsibility to make sure there's nothing in his path before moving his vehicle. It's totally irresponsible to drive blindly and expect everyone else to get out of your way.

"More than likely the biker didn't notice the bus backing up until it was too late and rammed right into it."

The witness account above (you know, the first paragraph of the post you're commenting on) is that she'd fallen after hitting a pothole, not that she rammed into the bus.

Not just backing up, but backing up without looking and killing someone.

She wasn't under the bus until he ran over her. If he couldn't see the vehicles behind him, he had no business backing up. Driving 101.

Ugh that's awful. That stretch of Delancey is incredibly pot hole riddled and uneven, you practically get rattled out of your seat if you don't get thrown off by a hole in the road.

awful