A tragic incident occurred on a bustling Brooklyn street yesterday morning when a 60-year-old woman was struck and killed by two men on a single e-bike. The accident took place near the Brooklyn Navy Yard along a bike lane at Flushing Avenue and North Elliott Place, as reported by the Gothamist. The woman, who had just alighted from the B57 bus, was attempting to navigate across the lane when the collision happened at around 7:20 a.m.
Authorities arrived at the scene to find the severely injured woman, and promptly transported her to Brooklyn Methodist Hospital where she ultimately died from her injuries. The identity of the woman has been withheld pending family notification. According to a different report by the New York Post, the men, aged 39 and 41, were also taken to the hospital but in stable condition. The driver of the e-bike has not faced arrest following the incident.
The collision has cast a spotlight on the safety of the bike lane that shares space with pedestrian traffic along Flushing Avenue. The area, known to be a hotspot for crashes, has recorded at least 44 injuries since 2020, which includes 22 cyclists and 8 pedestrians, as per city data cited by the Gothamist. Additionally, local residents have expressed unease over the increasing speeds of e-bikes on the bike lanes. "They come too fast, you know, every day… They're not supposed to have bikes like this," Juan Santana, who lives in the neighborhood, told the Gothamist.
The e-bike implicated in the accident appeared to be a model capable of reaching speeds upwards of 30 mph, produced by Movcan, as indicated by the company's marketing materials. This speed exceeds the current legal limit for e-bikes in New York City, which stands at 20 mph, and an upcoming regulation will further reduce the maximum speed to 15 mph. Notably, a local e-biker, Dan Kim, mentioned to the Gothamist how he's been on the receiving end of a police crackdown, having received multiple tickets for e-bike infractions. "Last year, I got like six [tickets] in one day," said Kim. "They [the police] were just following me."
