NYPD on Fatal Delancey Street Crash: “Looks Like It Was Just an Accident”

delancey_scene.jpgPhoto: CS Muncy/Flickr via Gothamist.

The police department confirmed this morning that no criminal charges have been filed against the bus driver who struck and killed a woman riding a bike on Delancey Street Tuesday afternoon. (The police have not released the identity of the victim, since the family hasn’t been notified yet.)

"I don’t believe that anyone will be charged," said a spokesman with NYPD’s public information office who gave his name as Officer Debonis. "The driver remained on the scene. Looks like it was just an accident."

According to an eyewitness account reported by NY1, the bus driver backed over the victim while onlookers shouted at him to stop. "We’re not confirming any of that," said Debonis. When asked for more details on the circumstances of the crash, he could say only that both the bus and victim were on the east-bound side of Delancey.

Whatever protocols may be at work here, it’s hard to see how the lack of transparency from NYPD is advancing public safety. We’ll also note that this is Cy Vance’s first full week on the job as Manhattan DA. The unanswered questions left in the wake of this crash bring home the urgency of Vance’s campaign pledge to beef up the DA’s Vehicular Crimes Unit.

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