Driver Leaves After FDNY Firefighter Is Killed on FDR Drive
Matthew Goicochea, a 31-year-old FDNY firefighter, was killed at 3:48 a.m. on FDR Drive after he fell from his motorcycle and a driver left the scene, according to the official record and police accounts.
What We Know
Matthew Goicochea, a 31-year-old off-duty FDNY firefighter, was riding north on the FDR Drive early July 24, 2025, when he fell from a 2023 Yamaha motorcycle near East 25th Street, according to police accounts cited by multiple outlets. Police said a driver in another vehicle did not remain at the scene after Goicochea was hit. The official crash record places the fatal crash on FDR Drive at 3:48 a.m. and records one motorist killed, with driver inattention or distraction listed as a contributing factor. Reports differ on some details, including whether Goicochea was pronounced dead at the scene or at Bellevue Hospital, and one account described the second impact as involving his motorcycle rather than him.
What police said happened on the FDR Drive
The official crash record says the fatal crash happened on FDR Drive at 3:48 a.m. on July 24, 2025, and records one motorist killed and no other injuries. The record identifies the person killed as a 31-year-old male motorcycle driver.
Police accounts cited by ABC7, Gothamist, West Side Spirit and the New York Post said Matthew Goicochea was riding north near East 25th Street when he lost control or failed to navigate the roadway and fell from a 2023 Yamaha motorcycle. Those accounts said a driver in another vehicle left the scene after Goicochea was hit.
The firefighter who died
News outlets identified the rider as Matthew Goicochea, 31, an FDNY firefighter who was off duty at the time. The FDNY said he joined the department in September 2022. West Side Spirit reported that he was a Bronx resident stationed at Ladder 41 in the Bronx.
The FDNY said Goicochea received the Thomas Wylie Medal in 2024 for rescuing an unconscious person from a fire in the Bronx. West Side Spirit reported that the rescue involved a person entangled in a wheelchair during a Morris Park apartment fire.
Motorcycle details in the record and reports
The official crash record lists a 2023 Yamaha motorcycle traveling north and going straight ahead before the crash. The record lists driver inattention or distraction as a contributing factor for the motorcycle entry.
Gothamist and West Side Spirit also described the motorcycle as a Yamaha. The New York Post described it as a 2023 Yamaha cycle, while one sentence in that report called it a moped.
Investigation and immediate aftermath
Police said the driver who hit Goicochea did not remain at the scene. Patch, Gothamist and West Side Spirit reported that no arrests had been made and that the NYPD was investigating, with Gothamist and West Side Spirit identifying the Highway Collision Investigation Squad.
Reports disagreed on where Goicochea was pronounced dead. ABC7 said police reported he was pronounced dead at the scene, while Patch, Gothamist, West Side Spirit, CBS New York and News 12 reported that he was taken to Bellevue Hospital or a hospital and pronounced dead there.
Where
FDR Dr