Cyclist Severely Injured After Swerving to Avoid Pedestrian in Central Park

A 67-year-old man was critically injured when he fell off his bike after dodging a jogger in Central Park last night.

The collision occurred yesterday at around 6:05 p.m. on East Drive near East 102nd Street, according to NYPD. Police said the cyclist was traveling northbound in the East Drive bike lane “when he swerved to avoid a jogger” and fell off his bike. He suffered body and head trauma and was rushed to Saint Luke’s Hospital, where he is currently in stable condition.

The cyclist flipped over his handlebars and flew 25 to 30 feet, according to the Daily News. NYPD says an investigation is ongoing.

Serious collisions between cyclists and pedestrians are rare, but they do happen, and the crowded loop roads of big parks seem to present unique risks. In the summer of 2014, 75-year-old Irving Schachter and 58-year-old Jill Tarlov were struck and killed by cyclists in Central Park. That period was an exception, however. In the last decade, most calendar years come and go without any fatal bike-pedestrian crashes citywide.

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