Teen e-moto rider dies after Lower Manhattan collision near City Hall
Gabriel Nacato, 17, died at the scene Wednesday morning after he and a 40-year-old woman driving a 2008 Chevy Tahoe collided on Centre Street near Chambers Street, where reporters placed his Deepower e-moto outside the protected bike lane.
Reported by press, not yet linked to NYC police crash records. This may change when new official records become available or when matching details are reviewed.
Location under review
What We Know
Police accounts published by multiple outlets place the collision just before 9 a.m. on Centre Street near Chambers Street, steps from City Hall. Gabriel Nacato, 17, was riding a Deepower e-moto and a 40-year-old woman was driving a 2008 Chevy Tahoe when they collided while traveling north. Reporters described the site as near the Brooklyn Bridge approach and outside the protected bike lane. Sources disagree or evolved on key details of the sequence and the e-moto’s specifications: some accounts said Nacato merged into traffic, while Streetsblog later reported police were still investigating whether a driver hit him or he hit the back of a car; reports listed the Deepower motor at 960 watts or 1,500 watts. Police said the driver remained at the scene and was not immediately charged.
The morning collision near Civic Center
Police told news outlets that Gabriel Nacato, 17, was riding north on Centre Street near Chambers Street just before 9 a.m. when he and a 40-year-old woman driving a 2008 Chevy Tahoe collided. The driver remained at the scene, and police said no immediate charges had been filed while the investigation continued.
News accounts differ on the precise sequence. The Daily News said Nacato and the Tahoe driver were heading in the same direction when they collided. Gothamist and ABC7 reported that police said Nacato had come off the Brooklyn Bridge and merged into traffic. News12 reported that police said he exited the bike lane and hit the driver’s side door. Streetsblog later reported that police were still investigating whether a driver hit Nacato or he hit the back of a car.
A narrow street segment steps from City Hall
The collision happened at Centre Street and Chambers Street, near City Hall, the Municipal Building and the Brooklyn Bridge approach. Gothamist described the intersection as the first one cyclists and drivers reach coming off the bridge, and noted that it had been part of a street safety project intended to calm traffic and protect cyclists.
Streetsblog reported that Nacato was in the roadway, not in the protected bike lane, on a narrow segment of Centre Street north of Chambers Street. The outlet said the street segment is often narrowed further by parked cars, though it reported there were no illegally parked cars at the scene that morning.
Gabriel Nacato was headed into adulthood
Nacato lived in Bensonhurst and attended 11th grade at Manhattan International School, his sister told the Daily News. She said he was on his way to Chinatown for help with summer job applications when he was killed.
His sister, Fernanda Nacato, described him as loved and social. “He was a beautiful boy. He was loved by everyone,” she told the Daily News. “We're broken.”
The e-moto drew legal and consumer-safety scrutiny
Police and transportation officials identified Nacato’s device as a Deepower e-moto or electric bike. The Daily News reported police said it had a 960-watt motor and could reach 30 mph; Streetsblog reported officials said the device had a 1,500-watt motor, weighed more than 100 pounds and was advertised at 30 mph. Both descriptions exceed New York’s limits for street-legal e-bikes.
After the fatal collision, Streetsblog reported that Deepower changed online specifications for the model from a 1,500-watt, 30-mph device to a 250-watt, 20-mph e-bike. The outlet also reported that the company had published instructions for unlocking higher speeds, and that some tutorials remained available elsewhere.
Officials and advocates pushed for action after the death
Transportation Alternatives and elected officials used the crash to call for action against the online sale of illegal high-speed e-motos. Streetsblog reported that Attorney General Letitia James planned to issue a consumer alert after Nacato’s death.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani said the city should not have “a hierarchy of safety” based on travel mode and pointed to infrastructure as a central safety issue. Advocates also urged stronger consumer warnings and enforcement around high-speed devices sold as e-bikes.