A pickup truck driver struck and killed a cyclist on a controversial stretch of Fourth Avenue in Sunset Park on Wednesday morning.
According to police, the cyclist — a 49-year-old man who has not yet been named — was headed south on an e-bike at about 9:10 a.m. on May 22. As the cyclist crossed 53rd Street, the driver of a 2007 Chevrolet Silverado who was turning left onto 53rd Street struck him.
When emergency responders arrived on the scene, the victim was unconscious and unresponsive, according to the NYPD. He was transported to NYU Langone Hospital-Brooklyn, where he was pronounced dead. Cops had not yet released the victim’s name as of Thursday afternoon, pending family notification. Council Member Alexa Avilés, who represents the area, said on social media that the victim may have been a delivery worker.
The driver, who has also not been identified, remained on the scene. An investigation is ongoing, and no arrests had been made as of May 23.
The Fourth Avenue bike lane has been a source of contention between cyclist and city officials for years. Last summer, safe streets advocacy group Transportation Alternatives launched the “Fix 4th Avenue” campaign, urging the city to fix up the bike lane and do more to discourage bad driver behavior like parking in the bike lane or on sidewalks. Cyclists have also criticized the department for failing to install temporary bike lanes during construction along Fourth Avenue.
In a statement released after Wednesday’s crash, TransAlt said the protected bike lanes peter out at intersections, like the one where the cyclist was killed on May 22, and there are no measures in place to slow drivers as they turn.
“No one should fear death or injury just for riding a bike in New York City,” said TransAlt representative Elizabeth Adams, in a statement.”We know how to prevent crashes from happening and yet a lack of political will to implement proven solutions is putting New Yorkers in danger. Mayor Adams must immediately finish Fourth Avenue by completing long-promised safety upgrades that slow down drivers and increase visibility at intersections along the entire corridor. We can’t afford to wait. We need action now.”
At least 31 people have been injured on Fourth Avenue since 2022, per TransAlt, including 12 cyclists who were seriously injured. NYPD crash records show at least 37 incidents along the thoroughfare so far this year, with nine involving cyclists. Many of those crashes were caused by driver inattention, failure to yield, or improper passing or use of lanes. At least 27 traffic fatalities have been reported in Brooklyn so far this year, per NYPD data.
“Crashes like these are a continuing failure of our mayor to provide safety at dangerous intersections like protected daylighting and leading ‘walk’ signal intervals for pedestrians and cyclists to avoid turning drivers,” said Families for Safe Streets member Deb Harden, in a statement. “This is one of the biggest dangers on our city’s streets, including on Fourth Avenue in Brooklyn which has a somewhat protected bike lane that needs intersection safety improvements now.”
The neighborhood has been the site of other cyclist deaths — in 2019, 31-year-old Em Samolewicz was hit by an 18-wheeler on Third Avenue after she swerved to avoid being doored by someone exiting a parked car. A year later, 31-year-old Clara Kang died on the same avenue when she was hit by a motorcyclist while biking home from her job at NYU Langone-Brooklyn, prompting locals to call for increased safety measures on the road.
