Kia Driver Fatally Hits E-Scooter Rider in Bensonhurst
At 18th Avenue and 74th Street in Brooklyn on Aug. 20, 2022, a 23-year-old Kia driver hit e-scooter rider Qiu Rifeng, who died at Maimonides; the city record lists 12:30 p.m., while police told reporters the crash happened about 12:50 p.m.
What We Know
A 23-year-old man driving a southbound 2022 Kia hit e-scooter rider Qiu Rifeng as Rifeng tried to cross 18th Avenue from the sidewalk in Bensonhurst, police told reporters. The city crash record places the collision at 12:30 p.m. on Aug. 20, 2022, at 18 Avenue and 74 Street and lists one person killed; news accounts cited police saying it happened about 12:50 p.m. The city record identifies the person killed as a 21-year-old male e-scooter rider, while the Daily News and amNewYork identify Rifeng as 22. Reporters wrote that he suffered severe head trauma and died at Maimonides Medical Center. The driver remained at the scene, and police reported no immediate charges or arrests.
Police described a sidewalk rider trying to cross 18th Avenue
The city record places the crash at 18 Avenue and 74 Street in Brooklyn at 12:30 p.m. on Aug. 20, 2022. Police told the Daily News and amNewYork that Qiu Rifeng was riding a Hover-1 Journey e-scooter on the sidewalk of 74th Street in Bensonhurst and tried to cross 18th Avenue at about 12:50 p.m.
Police told reporters that a 23-year-old man driving a 2022 Kia south on 18th Avenue hit Rifeng, sending him to the pavement. The Daily News reported that Rifeng was not wearing a helmet and suffered severe head trauma; both articles reported that medics took him to Maimonides Medical Center, where he died.
The Bensonhurst crossing had no marked crosswalk in his direction
The crash happened at 18th Avenue and 74th Street in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. The city record lists the location in ZIP code 11204, and the Daily News and amNewYork described the crash as near Rifeng's home; amNewYork reported he was a little over a block away.
amNewYork reported that the intersection had no marked crosswalk to cross 18th Avenue in the direction Rifeng was going, and that a person making that crossing would have had to go one block north or south. The article also reported that the two-block stretch of 18th Avenue between 73rd Street and Bay Ridge Parkway had 50 crashes, 60 injuries, and one cyclist death over the prior decade, citing Crash Mapper data.
Records and reports disagree on Rifeng's age
The city crash record identifies the person killed as a 21-year-old male e-scooter rider. The Daily News and amNewYork identify him as Qiu Rifeng, 22. Both news accounts identify the Kia driver as a 23-year-old man who remained at the scene.
The official record lists a sedan and an e-scooter
The city record lists two vehicles: a 2022 Kia sedan with one occupant and a 2019 Hover-1 e-scooter with one rider. The record lists the sedan as southbound and going straight ahead, and the e-scooter as eastbound and going straight ahead. News reports described the Kia as a 2022 Kia K5 or Kia sedan and the scooter as a Hover-1 Journey.
City data recorded limited visibility as a factor
The city crash record lists View Obstructed/Limited for both the sedan driver and the e-scooter rider, and also lists Pedestrian/Bicyclist/Other Pedestrian Error/Confusion for the e-scooter rider. Police told the Daily News that the Kia driver faced no immediate charges, while amNewYork reported that police had made no arrests.