Bicyclist killed on 27th street

[Pawgny]

There was a bicyclist killed early this a.m. ( around 1 a.m.) on 27th street & 23rd ave.  From what I hear, the bicyclist ran the red light (questionable??) & was struck.  The bicyclist was thrown onto another car and died instantly.  The driver stopped & called the police.......not charged w/ anything!   

Has anyone heard anything on this?

Please say a prayer for the gentleman that was killed, his family, his children......

[PJ]

very sad....and i will say a prayer for him and his fammily...

but why the exclamtion point ! after not charged ? accidents happen

[paratactical]

As terrible an occurance as this is, if the light was indeed red and the cyclist ran it, I certainly do not think the driver should face any charges. It would be traumatic enough as a motorist and a human being to have been part of such an accident when it was not one's fault, let alone to face legal and fiscal penalties.

[thanos27]

People on bikes seem to run lights all the time . I see it everyday and i hate that they do it .  Stuff like this happens and u see  " Driver not charged!!!  " The driver mightve just been driving thru a green light , while the other went thru the red as it seems . U cant stop the car on a dime ,because the other person didnt use their brain .

[Claire]

The bicyclist was Arturo Flores, a beloved member of the Andean musical community of NY/NJ, a member of the group Agua Clara based here in Astoria, a citizen of Astoria and Ancash Peru.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sF8EKR-hXpg

[dino@tonysbicycles]

Here at Tony's Bicycles we knew Arturo not only as a customer but also as a friend...We were devastated from the loss...Every now and then he would go to his country(Peru)...always coming back with a little something for us...Wine,chocolate...Just a couple of weeks ago I personaly walked with him to cut his lock cause he had lost the keys...But the memory of him is always with us...Me and my co-mechanic are thinking of making a ghost bike in his memory and place it at that corner....I know its too late now...But reeeeeeaaally a great guy...Never forgotten for sure...Rest in peace Arturo....We 'll always remember you...
Dino,Frank and Tony...

[thanos27]

Sad.  I saw another woman on a bike get hit today in manhattan , 6th ave and 18th st.  Cab pulled over to the side to drop off someone , only it was a bike lane . As the person getting out opened the door , the girl on the bike smashed into the open door. She went flying and looked to have hurt her shoulder /collar bone .  Lucky for her it wasnt more . No helmet by the way .

[Christine]

That's awfully sad about Arturo. What a terrible loss, I'm so sorry.

The woman in the city wasn't "hit" so much as "doored." It's usually a more minor incident but still sucks nonetheless.

[Traff]

Nobody cares about pedestrians and cyclists.  Their deaths are just a minor inconvenience for the car drivers, who, of course, never do anything wrong.  What follows is a sample of quotes from this month's news reports of traffic "accidents" involving peds/bikes:

"The van's driver will not face charges."

"Cops said it was unlikely that the driver would face charges."

"Police sources said driver Charles Joseph will not face criminal charges."

"No charges expected in accident that left Staten Island woman gravely injured."

"Police said it is unlikely that the SUV's driver will face any criminal charges."

"the victim, a woman, was hit and killed by an SUV. We could find no media reports of the incident."

"Dees and Sullivan died at Beth Israel Medical Center. Neither taxi driver faces criminal charges, police said."

"Bailey wasn't charged with anything and was allowed to drive his truck from the scene an hour later."

[casicua]

Nobody cares about pedestrians and cyclists.  Their deaths are just a minor inconvenience for the car drivers, who, of course, never do anything wrong.  What follows is a sample of quotes from this month's news reports of traffic "accidents" involving peds/bikes:

"The van's driver will not face charges."

"Cops said it was unlikely that the driver would face charges."

"Police sources said driver Charles Joseph will not face criminal charges."

"No charges expected in accident that left Staten Island woman gravely injured."

"Police said it is unlikely that the SUV's driver will face any criminal charges."

"the victim, a woman, was hit and killed by an SUV. We could find no media reports of the incident."

"Dees and Sullivan died at Beth Israel Medical Center. Neither taxi driver faces criminal charges, police said."

"Bailey wasn't charged with anything and was allowed to drive his truck from the scene an hour later."

Please don't do that- they are called accidents for a reason. People get killed by cars, and it's awful, and tragic. Sometimes, there is no one to blame.
It's unfair to say that these people you have quoted about deserve to be punished without knowing the situation.
I have had someone very close to me struck and killed by a vehicle while walking. Yes, my first gut instinct was to get that a**hole who did it, but the fact is that he wasn't to blame. It was an accident. I miss my friend dearly, but I don't need to go on a witch hunt just to find someone to point a finger at.

[astoristani]

Please don't do that- they are called accidents for a reason. People get killed by cars, and it's awful, and tragic. Sometimes, there is no one to blame.
It's unfair to say that these people you have quoted about deserve to be punished without knowing the situation.
I have had someone very close to me struck and killed by a vehicle while walking. Yes, my first gut instinct was to get that a**hole who did it, but the fact is that he wasn't to blame. It was an accident. I miss my friend dearly, but I don't need to go on a witch hunt just to find someone to point a finger at.

Unfortunately, a lot of these accidents are anything but an accident.  A lot of these are caused by inconsiderate motorists that don't believe in anyone but themselves having the right of way.
How many times have you been crossing the street and look the driver straight in the eye and he still proceeds through the crowded crosswalk without even slowing down?

[heff]

In England they aren't allowed to refer to them as accidents, they refer to them as crashes, because referring to it as an accident implies there is no one to blame.

Except we have placed blame here, on Arturo.  I took the time to follow up with Pawgy, he heard the story from the guys on the corner who heard it from a local homeless guy.  The short blurb in the Daily News, not available online, makes no mention of Arturo running the red light.  We're trying to get the accident report from the NYPD.

But here we've already assumed that Arturo is to blame.  Reporting on the scene is often shoddy.  A friend of my was struck by a cab crossing the street, legally, when the cab turned onto street to discharged passengers in the bike lane (which is illegal).  You know what the accident report said?  "Hurt crossing street."  No mention of the cab.  Now he has to go to court to get the insurance to pay for his shoulder surgery.  Too often the pedestrian or cyclist gets short changed.

Let me throw out one more thought... let's say I was riding my bike and hit a pedestrian crossing the street because I wasn't looking and killed them, would everyone on the board here fall over themselves to say I wasn't at fault?  That because I wasn't looking it was an "accident"?

[paratactical]

Let me throw out one more thought... let's say I was riding my bike and hit a pedestrian crossing the street because I wasn't looking and killed them, would everyone on the board here fall over themselves to say I wasn't at fault?  That because I wasn't looking it was an "accident"?

I think that would depend heavily on if the pedestrian was jaywalking or if you were running a red light.

[Traff]

Please don't do that- they are called accidents for a reason. People get killed by cars, and it's awful, and tragic. Sometimes, there is no one to blame.
It's unfair to say that these people you have quoted about deserve to be punished without knowing the situation.
I have had someone very close to me struck and killed by a vehicle while walking. Yes, my first gut instinct was to get that a**hole who did it, but the fact is that he wasn't to blame. It was an accident. I miss my friend dearly, but I don't need to go on a witch hunt just to find someone to point a finger at.

An "accident"??  I'm sorry, but I refuse to accept the carnage that happens on our roads as inevitable and unavoidable.  Two vehicles, whether they be cars, bikes, buses or whatever, colliding with each other is absolutely avoidable.  You lost a friend.  For what?  So that someone could get to the donut shop 5 seconds quicker?  So that someone could send a text or light a cigarette while driving?  The bottom line is that your friend should still be here.

[heff]

I think that would depend heavily on if the pedestrian was jaywalking or if you were running a red light.

But that's my point, we honestly don't know what Arturo and the driver were doing, it's all hearsay.  Here is the exact language from the Daily news..."A bicyclist was struck and killed on a Queens street by a van early yesterday morning, police said.  The unidentified 35 year old man was hit on 23rd street in Astoria around 1 a.m. by a Dodge Caravan, said police.  The van's driver will not face charges."  I'm not going to blame the driver outright, but I'm not going to blame Arturo either.  Hopefully we can get the accident report, but even those can be suspect as anyone that has been in any kind of accident can attest.