The intersection of 9th Street and 2nd Avenue in Park Slope, Brooklyn has become a death trap for bicyclists as the bike lane practically ends or becomes the path of cars and trucks.
While details of how the crash occurred on Tuesday morning were not released, the truth is that a 37-year-old woman was killed by a lorry.
Just at this corner, Joseph Lulu lives in this area and confirms how dangerous this road is.
“Cars can turn right here, but they’re on the cycle lane and they’re running over you, so it’s very, very dangerous. Look at how they drive, it’s not easy to drive with motorists,” Lulu said.
“I think it’s dangerous for that very reason, because there isn’t a specific place for bikes, it’s converted for cars and motorcycles at the same time,” said Carlos Llanos.
This fatal crash comes just twelve hours after a crash that left another cyclist in critical condition in Williamsburg, when a van ran over him as he was turning at an intersection.
And while DOT statistics show that cyclist fatalities from being hit by cars have declined, the truth is that another 62-year-old cyclist died in Queens last week, just as she was hit by a car.
“We cyclists also have to be very careful, because there are times when we don’t respect the signs here, there are always road signs and we have to respect them more than anything else,” said Miguel Ibate.
In total since 2017 in this area two pedestrians, a motorcyclist and now a cyclist have lost their lives when they were hit by vehicles along this 9th street between Third avenue and Smith street.
According to Riders Alternatives, the city needs to do more to protect pedestrians and cyclists on dangerous roads and intersections.
Authorities have not released the victim’s name and the truck driver is known to have remained at the scene and not been charged criminally.
For his part, Transport Commissioner Ydanis Rodríguez stressed that in 2022 fatal accidents decreased by 6.6% compared to 2019.
