A 40-year-old Canarsie man riding his bicycle on Avenue I in Flatlands was struck head-on by a BMW driver late Thursday night and killed, with the driver fleeing the scene without stopping. Mamadou Diallo was attempting to turn south onto East 54th Street at around 11:49 p.m. when the eastbound BMW hit him, throwing his body into a nearby parked car.
The collision, first reported by CBS News New York, has since drawn additional detail from Streetsblog NYC, which reports the exact collision mechanics and confirms Diallo's identity. Police are actively searching for the driver, who has not been identified or apprehended. No description of the BMW or its direction of travel beyond eastbound on Avenue I has been made public.
Third Fatal Cyclist Hit-and-Run in Three Days
Diallo's death marks the third fatal cyclist hit-and-run recorded in New York City within a three-day span in mid-August, according to the same Streetsblog report. The other two fatal crashes occurred in Cypress Hills and the Bronx two days earlier, on August 18.
One of those crashes killed 29-year-old e-bike commuter Paulina Tec Choc, who was struck from behind and run over on Jamaica Avenue in Cypress Hills by the driver of a white Ford F-250 pickup truck who then fled north. Tec Choc was on her way to her job at a local Sonic Drive-In when she was hit, a crash Hoodline covered in detail in our earlier report on her death.
How NYPD Investigates When Drivers Flee
Fatal hit-and-run cases in New York City are investigated by the NYPD's specialized Highway District Collision Investigation Squad, which handles forensic scene reconstruction, gathers vehicle debris, and canvasses the area for surveillance footage. Local precinct officers typically assist squad detectives by securing physical evidence at the scene. It remains an open question whether investigators have obtained security footage or forensic evidence that could identify the driver who struck Diallo.
Leaving the scene of a fatal crash without stopping to report to authorities is a Class D felony under New York Vehicle and Traffic Law § 600(2)(c), carrying up to seven years in state prison and fines as high as $5,000. Brooklyn prosecutors have a track record of pursuing even steeper sentences when reckless driving accompanies the flight charge. In May, a Brooklyn Supreme Court sentenced 32-year-old Jerry Gelle to 5 to 10 years in prison for second-degree manslaughter and leaving the scene of a fatal 2024 Bed-Stuy crash, after NYPD forensic investigators matched his DNA to the vehicle's gear shift; security cameras had recorded him running red lights at 53 mph before hitting his victim. In March, the same court sentenced another hit-and-run driver to three to six years for second-degree manslaughter after he ran a red light and killed 56-year-old cyclist Jose Ramos on Atlantic Avenue.
Brooklyn's Persistent Cycling Risk
Citywide, traffic fatalities during the first half of 2026 fell 7% compared to the same period last year, reaching near-record lows that city officials attribute to targeted enforcement and street redesigns under Vision Zero, according to the city's Department of Transportation. But that citywide progress has not translated evenly to cyclists, who remain disproportionately at risk in Brooklyn. The borough leads all five boroughs in bicycle-related collisions and injuries, logging between 1,400 and 1,500 cyclist injuries annually and accounting for nearly 29% of all NYC bicycle injuries, per an analysis from AEE Law.
Street design appears to be a major factor behind that toll. Transit safety research shows 83% of New York City cyclist fatalities occur on streets lacking protected bike infrastructure, even though 98% of the city's streets still have no protected bike lanes at all, according to a separate AEE Law analysis. Avenue I in Flatlands, where Diallo was killed, is among those streets without a dedicated protected bike lane.
No arrests have been announced in Diallo's death, and police have not released a description of the driver or vehicle beyond the initial details of the collision. The investigation remains ongoing.
