Support road.cc

Like this site? Help us to make it better.

Video: Cyclist films moment rider hit by minivan driver on New York City 'murder strip' bike lane

Shocking incident happened last night on Greenpoint Avenue in Queens

A cyclist in New York City captured on video the moment another rider was hit from behind by a hit-and-run motorist driving a minivan as he waited at a red traffic light in Queens.

Cycling campaigners say that the footage illustrates how the bike lane at the location puts riders in danger, with one rider describing the location as a 'murder strip'.

The incident happened at around 6pm yesterday evening on Greenpoint Avenue close to the junction with the Long Island Expressway, reports Sunnyside Post.

The driver of the silver Toyota Sienna involved failed to stop at the scene and drove through the red light as they sped off.

The cyclist who filmed the incident and posted footage to Twitter said that the driver of the minivan had collided with several other vehicles both before and after veering into the bike lane and striking the cyclist.

Both she and another cyclist stopped to help the rider who had been hit, and who was screaming in pain.

She said that New York Police Department officers who attended the scene reviewed the footage and gave her an email address to which it could be sent.

According to police, the cyclist who was struck was a 36-year-old male who was complaining of back pain after being hit, although officers were unable to confirm whether he had been taken to hospital.

Streetblogs NYC said that the incident happened at a “notorious stretch of Greenpoint Avenue in Long Island City that safety advocates have long complained about.”

The website added: “Cyclists have long complained about the northbound stretch of Greenpoint between the Greenpoint Avenue Bridge and the LIE [Long Island Expressway] because drivers often speed on the narrow roadway, which widens near Calvary Cemetery to accommodate two lanes of cars — with a painted bike lane in between them.

“The design allows one lane of drivers to continue straight into Sunnyside while the other lane turns right to get on the highway. But cyclists are often getting squeezed or bullied.”

It added that in 2018, there were 19 reported collisions at the location concerned, with one cyclist and one pedestrian injured.

One person replying to the post on Twitter described the bike lane as a “murder strip” – a reference to “moordstrookje” – chosen last year by dictionary publishers Van Dale as the Belgian/Flemish Word of the Year 2018 and defined as a painted bicycle lane on a dangerous street next to fast-moving cars.

Add new comment

4 comments

Avatar
cityrider | 5 years ago
0 likes

Was the van speeding?
Looking at the bright reflection from the road signs, would such a reflector help to warn the driver?

 

Avatar
hawkinspeter | 5 years ago
4 likes

So, is this when the NYC police go round and ticket cyclists for not wearing helmets again?

Avatar
bike_food replied to hawkinspeter | 5 years ago
3 likes
hawkinspeter wrote:

So, is this when the NYC police go round and ticket cyclists for not wearing helmets again?

Only the decent ones, the others will wrestle them off their bikes and stick a gun to their heads.

Avatar
OldRidgeback | 5 years ago
1 like

Scary

Latest Comments

 
Logo

Looks like your ad blocker is on.

×

We rely on ads to keep creating quality content for you to enjoy for free.

You can subscribe to road.cc to support us and turn off ads for good

Continue without supporting us

Choose your Ad Blocker

  • Adblock Plus
  • Adblock
  • Adguard
  • Ad Remover
  • Brave
  • Ghostery
  • uBlock Origin
  • uBlock
  • UltraBlock
  • Other
  1. In the extension bar, click the AdBlock Plus icon
  2. Click the large blue toggle for this website
  3. Click refresh
  1. In the extension bar, click the AdBlock icon
  2. Under "Pause on this site" click "Always"
  1. In the extension bar, click on the Adguard icon
  2. Click on the large green toggle for this website
  1. In the extension bar, click on the Ad Remover icon
  2. Click "Disable on This Website"
  1. In the extension bar, click on the orange lion icon
  2. Click the toggle on the top right, shifting from "Up" to "Down"
  1. In the extension bar, click on the Ghostery icon
  2. Click the "Anti-Tracking" shield so it says "Off"
  3. Click the "Ad-Blocking" stop sign so it says "Off"
  4. Refresh the page
  1. In the extension bar, click on the uBlock Origin icon
  2. Click on the big, blue power button
  3. Refresh the page
  1. In the extension bar, click on the uBlock icon
  2. Click on the big, blue power button
  3. Refresh the page
  1. In the extension bar, click on the UltraBlock icon
  2. Check the "Disable UltraBlock" checkbox
  1. Please disable your Ad Blocker
  2. Disable any DNS blocking tools such as AdGuardDNS or NextDNS

If the prompt is still appearing, please disable any tools or services you are using that block internet ads (e.g. DNS Servers).

Logo