Cyclist Killed By Cement Truck On Delancey Street

A cyclist was killed around 5:40 pm this evening on Delancey Street between Chrystie and Bowery after falling underneath the rear wheels of a cement truck. Jose Martinez, who had stopped his own bike at a red light on Chrystie before the victim passed him going westbound on Delancey, said that the cyclist "seemed nervous" and lost control of his bicycle, falling in-between the truck's massive wheels. According to police the victim, a white male in his 30s who was wearing a helmet, faltered on his bike because his chain fell off the sprocket. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

NYPD officers confirmed that because the driver "never saw him," and the cyclist ran the red light, there was "no criminality." The driver of the truck, which bore the markings of ESF Transport Inc., seemed distressed as he was being interviewed by police. Martinez says he spotted the victim on Chrystie street moments earlier having trouble with the bike's chain.

As a construction worker who commutes by bike from his home in Brooklyn, 32-year-old Martinez said he frequently crosses Delancey to get to and from the Manhattan Bridge. Too distraught to tell us how he felt after witnessing the accident, he urged cyclists to not take chances on the route: "When there is a red light here, you really just have to stop."

This latest fatality occurred mere feet from a "ghost bike" memorial to Rasha Shamoon, who was killed after being hit by a SUV at Delancey and Bowery three years ago. Just last year, a cyclist died on Orchard and Delancey after hitting a pothole and being crushed by a bus. According to the Local East Village, nine out of the city's 33 most dangerous intersections for cyclists are located on the Lower East Side, not to mention Essex and Delancey being one of the most treacherous intersections for pedestrians. Tonight's incident marks the fifth cyclist fatality in less than 60 days.

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer tweeted shortly after the accident, "No more waiting: DOT must fix this dangerous mess and save lives now." We couldn't agree more.

[UPDATE] Police have identified the victim as 52-year-old Jeffrey Axelrod of Cobble Hill, Brooklyn.

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

By Christopher Robbins in News on August 18, 2011 9:30 PM

Comments [rss]

JesseArmstrng

Rule #1 if you ride in NYC: Protect yourself at all times. That means drive a well-maintained bike and WEAR A HELMET.

Eric Kittell

Why do you think you need to yell at people to wear a helmet? The benefits of bicycle helmet use are dubious at best.

TheSpinGuru

Well, it is quite obvious you have slammed into a few walls without the benefit of one. Have you ever been in a bike crash that resulted in a cracked helmet? I have.... Not a mark on the skull, because I had a helmet on. I know hundred of cyclists that have been saved by helmet use. Arguing AGAINST helmet use is ridiculous. But I don't sell helmets for a living, so who cares if you use one. All serious cyclist do request you keep your brain matter out of the bike lane. Its slippery constitution can cause a bike crash if you try to brake you bike will your wheel is touching it.

Eric Kittell

Although your reply might sound clever it would be smarter to consider the facts here: http://cyclehelmets.org/. Also I'm not arguing against helmet use though I do believe that no one should YELL at people to wear helmets which is exactly what I wrote.

TheSpinGuru

One more time: I do not sell helmets for a living, so I really can give a rat's ass if you wear one. Just keep your brains where RESPONSIBLE riders don't slip on them.

Much like debating whether the sky is blue or not, I am not going to debate the benefits of riding with a helmet on. Any real cyclist laughs at the stupidity of not wearing one.... NEXT TOPIC

Eric Kittell

There are so many genuinely nice and decent people in this city but unfortunately there are also a few ignorant bigots who give everyone a bad name.

R_N_S

I knew Jeff through his work with Transportation Alternatives' Brooklyn Committee in the late 90s / early 00s, and he was an extremely experienced - and committed - cyclist. I just want to put that out there, and provide some perspective. This isn't a novice making a rookie mistake (not that that would be any less tragic). This is someone who had been riding on the road and throughout NYC for a good 25 years - if not longer.

Although I haven't seen him in years, I enjoyed getting to know Jeff, and he was an all-around great guy, and tireless advocate for cycling and the environment.

Rest in peace Jeff. You will be missed.

edgie168

It's funny that yesterday, I saw more than a few white kids on bikes plowing through red lights on Delancey -- right by where that guy got smushed.

TheSpinGuru

100 more cyclists will die and #bikenyc will blame EVERY driver.

TheSpinGuru

PLEASE do not call yourself a cyclist if you are riding a fixed gear bike....

smorrebrod

Quit flaunting your degree in Semiotics.

TheSpinGuru

In fact, don't call yourself an adult either, if you are on a fixed gear bike....

smorrebrod

Why? Fixed gear bikes are perfectly functioning unless you got duped into one of those hi-tensile steel Urban Outfitter ripoffs. They have less parts, in the winter I won't have cassettes freeze up, I get a better sense of how fast I'm traveling from my pedaling. When I'm at a red light, I just trackstand for a couple seconds and wait for the light without any penalties in terms of exertions. All in all, it's practical.

There's no distinction between cyclists, bicyclists, bikers, because in the end it's PEOPLE riding bikes.

TheSpinGuru

And when your chain goes..... crash.

"because in the end it's PEOPLE riding bikes" is that supposed to be good when 80% are red light runners who test Darwin's Theory on a daily basis?

smorrebrod

Maintain your chain, ride with a brake or two, and be ready to have alternates. What are you fucking babbling on about? You're an incoherent troll.

TheSpinGuru

Mirror, look.....

smorrebrod

I just happened to see something I disagree with and voiced my opinion, not a troll.

TheSpinGuru

Right back at you, douchenstein

smorrebrod

Thanks, I'll take that as a complement!

miller_b

#1) Of the 128 existing comments, not one questions this statement: "on
Delancey Street between Chrystie and Bowery after falling underneath the
rear wheels of a cement truck".....or other site accounts, e.g. "collided with the back of a tractor-trailer". Isn't it possible that....uh....the
truck ran the red light too? For the biker to have been so close/behind implies as much. (Which wouldn't' absolve the biker's poor judgement, but hey....)

Sad day for the biker. Sad day for the driver. More life-saving fully green &/or barriered bike lanes, please.

#2) So a couple of black teens rob a bodega at gunpoint. Does this make all black teens criminals??? Hell yeah! Screw black teens! Actually screw all black people!!!!!!!

Not.

I repeat. NOT. 'Twas an analogy to make 'you' angry (!!!!!!!!!!!!) to forge a point.

Meaning now you know how bikers feel when 'all' bikers are stereotypically lambasted as if we 'all' ride like fucktards. Especially since idiot riders piss me off as well --- this means those that wear their damn ipod earbuds so that they can't hear me when I yell at them to watch out for the semi that doesn't seem to see either of us (by the way it's only legal to wear ONE earbud, not two, though NY and OR are attempting to make a headset/earbuds of any number illegal)....bikers who ride around at night without lights so that i can't see them....at all....especially when pedaling the wrong way down a one way street during rush hour in dark clothing....riding down a one way, the wrong way, period....any biker who doesn't wear a helmet....pushy effers who give me the finger or groan if i don't want to squeeze between two buses to get where i'm going 10 seconds sooner....bikers who don't signal when making abrupt turns....bikers who run red lights and whiz past me on MY green....and DUDE bikers who can't stand it when GIRLS (namely me!) ride faster UP the bridge or in bike lanes or non-busy streets, who feel the need to showoff and exert their manhood by going faster for 120 seconds before completely slowing down again so that I'm forced to go around them in having kept up my normal pace, DUDES who speed past me on the DOWNHILL portion or speed up on flat streets a half block away from red lights. Screechy brakes ensue. Frogger bikers who weave through traffic, run through busy crosswalks on pedestrian greens and who run lights when it's busy and congested also make my life difficult,

....because then y'all presume I'm habitually 'robbing bodegas at gunpoint' too.