A 20-year-old man riding a scooter was killed Wednesday evening in Dyker Heights after a minivan struck him near 14th Avenue and 77th Street, turning a routine late afternoon into a fatal collision. He was rushed to Maimonides Medical Center, where he was later pronounced dead. The crash, which unfolded just before the evening commute, remains under investigation.
The NYPD identified the victim as 20-year-old Ajpop Walter and said the collision occurred just before 5:15 p.m. Wednesday, according to News12 Brooklyn. The outlet reports that Walter was hit only a few blocks from his home and taken to Maimonides Medical Center, where he died.
Citywide micromobility crash trends
The Dyker Heights crash lands amid growing concern citywide about collisions involving e‑bikes and motorized scooters on New York streets. A ledger drawn from NYPD collision data found that e‑bike–involved crashes injured more than 17,000 people and were linked to 133 deaths from 2019 through May 2026, according to an analysis by AEE Law. Neighborhood-level mapping by CrashCount visualizes these incidents across the city and shows Brooklyn bearing a particularly high share of recent injuries.
Police say the driver stayed on scene
According to police, Walter and a 2012 Toyota Sienna were both heading south on 14th Avenue when the minivan struck his scooter. Officers said the 56-year-old driver stayed at the scene after the crash. No arrests had been announced as of Friday evening while the NYPD investigation continues, per News12 Brooklyn.
Calls for safer streets persist
City officials and street-safety advocates continue to push for tools like street redesigns, protected lanes and stricter speed management to cut down on traffic deaths under the Vision Zero program. The city's Vision Zero resources and reporting from Streetsblog NYC note that while pedestrian fatalities have declined, deaths among riders of some motorized two‑wheelers remain a troubling and growing concern for traffic safety planners.
