Pickup driver turned left before fatal e-bike crash in Sunset Park
A 49-year-old e-bike rider was killed at Fourth Avenue and 53rd Street in Brooklyn on May 22, 2024, after police said a 40-year-old pickup driver turned left and remained at the scene.
What We Know
At about 9:10 a.m. on May 22, 2024, a 49-year-old man riding an e-bike was killed at Fourth Avenue and 53rd Street in Sunset Park. Police told amNY the rider was traveling south on Fourth Avenue when a Chevrolet pickup driver turned left onto 53rd Street; the driver, age 40, remained at the scene. The city crash record lists the pickup driver as making a left turn and the e-bike rider as going straight, and it records failure to yield right-of-way for both listed parties. amNY reported that the rider was taken to NYU Langone Hospital with traumatic injuries to his head and body and could not be saved.
A morning turn preceded the fatal collision
The crash happened at about 9:10 a.m. on May 22, 2024, at Fourth Avenue and 53rd Street in Brooklyn. The official record says one person was killed and no other injuries were recorded.
Police told amNY that a 49-year-old man was riding an e-bike south on Fourth Avenue when a Chevrolet pickup driver turned left onto 53rd Street. amNY reported that the rider was taken to NYU Langone Hospital with traumatic head and body injuries and could not be saved.
The rider died, and the pickup driver stayed at the scene
The official record identifies the person killed as a 49-year-old male bicyclist riding an e-bike. amNY reported that police had described him as a 49-year-old man.
amNY reported that the 40-year-old pickup driver remained at the scene after the crash.
The city record points to yielding as a factor
The crash record lists failure to yield right-of-way for both the pickup driver and the e-bike rider. It also lists the pickup driver as making a left turn and the e-bike rider as going straight ahead.
There is a movement-detail conflict in the available records: the city record lists the pickup driver as traveling west, while amNY reported that police said the driver had been heading opposite the southbound rider before turning left onto 53rd Street.
Fourth Avenue was already the focus of safety demands
The crash occurred at Fourth Avenue and 53rd Street in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.
Transportation Alternatives told amNY that the protected bike lane vanishes at the intersection, creating dangerous conflict zones, and called for the city to restore and extend Fourth Avenue bike-lane protections while adding turn-calming measures and other upgrades.