Dr. Carl Nacht, who was hit by an NYPD tow truck last week while riding on the West Side bike path, died on Sunday. Today, there is a service for Nacht at 2:00 p.m. at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine (Amsterdam Avenue and 110th Street). Nacht had not been wearing a helmet during his Thursday evening bike ride, and when the truck hit him, he was thrown towards another tow truck, his head hitting the hood. The tow truck's driver was not charged, but his wife told the NY Times that the tow truck did not yield to them, as it should have. She also said that her husband, who biked everywhere, "knew what he was doing. We thought because we were on a bike path, we were safe." The unfortunate thing, as many recent biking accidents have shown us, there is no such thing as safe. Let's hope the city will embark on campaigns to improve driver education about bikers' rights in the city - as well as reminding bikers of tactics they need to take.
The Daily News reported that Nacht ran in 29 consecutive NYC Marathons and would bike or run to house calls. A nurse practitioner said, "Henry [sic] always went the extra mile for his patient. They were like part of his family to him."
