A Park Slope cyclist was forced to dive out of harm’s way on Fifth Avenue when a wrong-way driver in a Honda rolled straight over his bike, an incident caught on video that has rattled local riders and reignited arguments over street safety and enforcement in Brooklyn.
Guess Who Ran Over My Bike After I Jumped Out Of The Way? from r/NYCbike
Video And Firsthand Account
In a post on Reddit, the cyclist, identified as Tom Flaschen, says he was riding northbound on Fifth Avenue near 10th Street when a Honda traveling the wrong way drifted toward him, forcing him to jump clear before the car rolled over his bike. The post includes security footage of the moment and a brief written description of what happened before and after the crash. Flaschen and commenters say police arrived at the scene but did not file a formal report because no one appeared injured.
Police Response And The Driver's Record
As reported by Streetsblog New York City, Flaschen told reporter Gersh Kuntzman that officers declined to write a ticket because they said they had not directly witnessed the crash, even though the bike was destroyed and the driver stayed at the scene. Kuntzman later found the driver’s dented Honda parked a few blocks from the site, and city camera records cited in the story show the vehicle has received 10 speed-camera violations and two red-light tickets since 2020.
Footage, Street Design And Accountability
"You have to be hypervigilant as a New York cyclist and we need better design," Flaschen told Streetsblog New York City, summing up the anxiety many riders feel in painted lanes that offer little real protection from cars. He also said Walgreens told him it would not release its security footage without a subpoena, a policy Kuntzman noted in his coverage of the crash.
Design, Data And The Official Record
The gap between close calls on the street and what ends up in official crash databases matters because city planners rely on police reports and recorded collisions to decide where safety projects go. NYC DOT says its Vision Zero program uses crash statistics to target changes across the five boroughs, while advocates warn that when incidents like this are never formally logged, dangerous corridors can look low risk on paper.
What Riders Are Urging Now
On Reddit, other cyclists urged Flaschen to deliver a preservation letter to Walgreens so the video does not get erased and to consider filing an insurance claim or a small-claims case to recover the cost of the wrecked bike. Flaschen said he recorded the driver’s license and insurance information at the scene and is still deciding what to do next.
The clip is a harsh reminder that paint-only bike lanes are no match for reckless drivers and that safety depends on both smart design and consistent enforcement. Until those pieces line up, near-misses like this will keep turning into viral warnings from the streets.
