An FDNY firefighter was killed in a motorcycle crash on the FDR Drive early this morning. Matthew Goicochea, a 31-year-old firefighter, collided with another vehicle while riding his motorcycle around 3:45 a.m. near 23rd Street, says the FDNY; Goicochea was promptly taken to Bellevue Hospital but unfortunately, he couldn't be saved, CBS New York reports.
The incident, which occurred in the predawn stillness of an otherwise bustling city roadway not only claimed the life of a city hero it also caused a significant snarl in morning traffic flow, all northbound lanes were shut down following the crash, leading to extensive backlogs as commuters found their routines upended. Helicopter footage from Chopper 2, provided by CBS New York, showed a sea of brake lights spilling back past the Brooklyn Bridge, the roadways wouldn't clear up until northbound lanes were reopened around 7:30 a.m., but by then considerable delays had already settled in like a dense fog.
Goicochea's career with the FDNY was marked by heroism as evidenced by his receipt of the Thomas Wylie Medal in 2024, PIX 11 notes, an accolade he earned for saving an unconscious individual from a house fire in the Bronx. Having joined the department in September 2022, his time serving the city saw the kind of valor that his colleagues and community will not lightly forget.
The FDNY expressed a collective heartache over the loss; their social media post lamenting the tragedy, stating "The FDNY mourns the loss of Firefighter Matthew Goicochea, who tragically passed away early Thursday morning," underscoring the sorrow felt across the department and beyond its halls, as per PIX 11 report. Meanwhile, the police investigation into the crash's cause continues, with no arrests having been made at the time no further details regarding the other vehicle involved have been provided.
