Teen e-bike rider killed at Ditmas and Coney Island
A 16-year-old e-bike rider was killed and another cyclist was injured at Ditmas and Coney Island avenues on Aug. 19, 2024, after police said a 48-year-old box-truck driver turned and the teens ended up under the truck.
What We Know
At Ditmas Avenue and Coney Island Avenue in Brooklyn, the city crash record says a box-truck driver and an e-bike rider were involved in a crash at 1:54 p.m. on Aug. 19, 2024, killing a 16-year-old bicyclist and injuring another cyclist. Police identified the teen who died as Juraed Umedjon and said two other boys were on the e-bike. Reviewed news accounts agree that the box-truck driver remained at the scene and was not arrested, but they differ on movement details: Gothamist and amNY attributed to police that the teens tried to pass as the driver turned; amNY added that Umedjon struck a traffic cone, while the Post described the teens being struck as the driver turned and placed the crash shortly after 4 p.m.
What officials recorded and what police told reporters
The city crash record places the crash at Ditmas Avenue and Coney Island Avenue at 1:54 p.m. on Aug. 19, 2024. It lists one 16-year-old male bicyclist killed and one cyclist injured, with a box truck and an e-bike involved.
Police identified the teen who died as Juraed Umedjon. News reports said he was taken to Maimonides, where he was pronounced dead.
Accounts differed on the moments before impact
Gothamist reported that police said the box-truck driver was traveling east on Ditmas Avenue and turned right onto southbound Coney Island Avenue as the teens tried to pass and ended up under the truck’s wheels. amNY reported that police said Umedjon was riding southbound on Coney Island Avenue, tried to pass, struck a traffic cone and ended up under the rear passenger tires. The Post reported that the teens were traveling on Ditmas Avenue toward Coney Island Avenue and were struck as the driver turned, and it placed the crash shortly after 4 p.m.
Three teenagers were on the e-bike
The driver was described by police as a 48-year-old man driving a 2017 Hino box truck. Police said he remained at the scene, and the reviewed reports said he was not arrested.
Coney Island Avenue is a high-risk corridor
Gothamist described Coney Island Avenue at Ditmas Avenue as a busy thoroughfare that transit advocates said is known for lacking a dedicated bike lane.
amNY reported that Coney Island Avenue has had a deadly record since 2011, with 15 people dead and nearly 2,800 people injured in crashes along the corridor from Prospect Park to Coney Island.
Advocates connected the death to a broader child-safety toll
Transportation Alternatives said Umedjon was the 12th child to die in New York City traffic in 2024. Gothamist reported that the figure already exceeded the annual totals recorded in nine of the prior 10 years, according to advocates.