Toyota driver and scooter rider collide; Ilya Perloff dies
A 70-year-old Toyota Sienna driver and westbound scooter rider Ilya Perloff collided at Fillmore Avenue and East 38th Street in Brooklyn on Dec. 21, 2025; the city record listed unsafe speed, and medics took Perloff to Mount Sinai Brooklyn, where he died.
What We Know
Ilya Perloff was riding an electric stand-up scooter west on Fillmore Avenue on his way to work when he and a 70-year-old driver in a 2015 Toyota Sienna traveling north on East 38th Street collided in Marine Park. The city crash record puts the crash at 11:49 a.m.; police accounts published by local outlets put it around 11:50 or 11:51 a.m. Police said the impact sent Perloff into a parked Chrysler minivan. Medics took him to Mount Sinai Brooklyn, where he died. The Toyota driver remained at the scene and was not hurt. Reported ages conflict: the city record lists the killed rider as 42, while several press accounts identified Perloff as 41.
The crash on Fillmore Avenue
The city crash record says the crash happened at 11:49 a.m. on Dec. 21, 2025, at Fillmore Avenue and East 38th Street in Brooklyn. It records one person killed.
Police accounts in the Daily News and Patch said Ilya Perloff was riding an electric stand-up scooter west on Fillmore Avenue when he and a 70-year-old driver in a 2015 Toyota Sienna traveling north on East 38th Street collided. Police said the impact sent Perloff into a parked Chrysler minivan before medics took him to Mount Sinai Brooklyn, where he died.
Ilya Perloff was commuting to work
The Daily News, citing his wife Melissa Perloff, reported that Ilya Perloff was a physical therapist riding the scooter to work. She said he loved the scooter and did not want the family to get a second car.
Press accounts reported that Perloff left behind his wife and two daughters. The city record lists the killed rider as 42, while the Daily News and Patch identified Perloff as 41.
A Marine Park intersection with a crash history
The crash happened at Fillmore Avenue and East 38th Street in Marine Park, Brooklyn. CrashCountNYC location context for Fillmore Avenue in Brooklyn shows 142 crashes, 111 injuries, seven serious injuries and one death from Jan. 1, 2022, through June 1, 2026.
News 12 reported that residents described the intersection as a place known for previous crashes and noted that it does not have a four-way stop.
Speed was listed in the city record
The city crash record listed unsafe speed as a contributing factor for the scooter rider’s vehicle. The reviewed articles reported that the Toyota driver remained at the scene; the Daily News said she faced no immediate charges, Patch said no arrests had been made, and News 12 reported that police did not suspect criminality.
Family, school and community response
Patch reported that more than 400 donors had contributed roughly $61,000 to a fundraiser for Perloff’s family by Tuesday afternoon, nearly reaching its $70,000 goal one day after launch.
News 12 reported that Cristina Leibert, a co-worker of Melissa Perloff at PS101 in Bath Beach, created the fundraiser and said the school community was devastated. News 12 also reported that a funeral was scheduled for Tuesday in Marine Park.