Cyclist Killed In Borough Park After Being Doored into Traffic

By Gersh Kuntzman
May 15, 2019

The intersection of 17th Avenue and 53rd Street is classic de Blasian chaos. This is pretty much every day in Borough Park. Photo: Google

A teenager was killed by the driver of a van who ran over him after he was doored by a passenger in a parked car on a busy two-way street in Borough Park, police said.

The 16-year old cyclist, whose name was not initially released by police, was heading northbound on 17th Avenue at around 5:38 p.m. when he was forced into traffic to avoid the open door of a parked car.

The wording of the police report is telling here:

“He swerved to avoid a parked car that was opening it’s [sic] door,” the police report said, suggesting that cars open doors on their own. “The bicyclist struck the door, which caused him to fall to the ground where he was struck by a white 2013 Econoline E350 that was also heading north on 17th Avenue.”

A bicyclist was struck and serious injured on 17th Ave & 53rd St, Hatzolah on scene. pic.twitter.com/tfkRhaMXs3

— Boro Park 24 News (@BoroPark24) May 15, 2019

The operators of both vehicles remained on the scene and were not charge, police said. The teenager, identified by the Daily News as Yisroel Schwartz, was taken to Maimonides Hospital, where he died.

He’s the ninth cyclist killed so far this year, police statistics show. According to the NYPD, just 10 cyclists were killed in all of 2018. Total road fatalities are up 21 percent so far this year, again according to the NYPD.

NYPD's "TrafficStat" shows that fatalities on New York roads are up more than 20 percent versus the same period last year. — NYPD’s “TrafficStat” shows that fatalities on New York roads are up more than 20 percent versus the same period last year.

The cyclist’s death is reminiscent of the killing of Madison Lyden, an Australian tourist who was run over by a truck driver after swerving to avoid a cab that had cut her off to park in a painted bike lane on Central Park West. The death has spurred calls for a protected cycle path on Central Park West — which the city is reportedly planning to create later this year.