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Cyclist killed in Bushwick hit-and-run

A driver hit and killed a bicyclist then fled from the scene on Metropolitan Avenue in Bushwick early this morning, police say.

Investigators said the 26-year-old victim was riding near the intersection of Stewart Avenue when he was struck. Police gave no description of the vehicle and did not release the cyclist’s name, though a Facebook page for the indie rock band Total Slacker identified the biker as drummer Terence Connor.

Total Slacker bandleader Tucker Roundtree said Connor had been touring with the psychedelic garage rock group since May.

“Terence was a rare and beautiful soul. He never judged anyone and was such an exciting and optimistic friend,” Roundtree told The Brooklyn Paper. “We all instantaneously became friends with him and loved him. There isn’t anything he wouldn’t do for those close to him.”

When police officers arrived at the scene of the crash, they found the cyclist laying in the road with a severe head injury. Emergency responders took him to Woodhull Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

The crash occurred on a busy stretch of Metropolitan Avenue that is classified as a local truck route and frequented by many big rigs servicing warehouses in the area.

North Brooklyn has been the site of multiple bicycle fatalities in the past months. Last September, Erica Abbott lost her life after riding over construction debris, falling from her bike, and being struck by a vehicle on Bushwick Avenue.

In October, a truck driver hit and killed artist Matthew LeFevre as he rode on Morgan Avenue — then left the scene. The motorist received traffic summonses but faced no criminal charges.