A 71-year-old bicyclist from Berlin Township was killed early Saturday when two vehicles struck him on Route 73 in Voorhees and both drivers fled the scene, leaving investigators with little more than conflicting descriptions of the vehicles involved. Maksudur Rahman was found unresponsive on the northbound side of the highway and was pronounced dead where he lay.
The crash happened at 1:17 a.m. on Oct. 24 on Route 73, according to the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office, as reported by NJ.com. Rahman, who lived in Berlin Township, was struck by two separate cars, both of which left without stopping, authorities said.
Investigators have not settled on a single description of either vehicle. According to the same account, authorities described the suspect vehicle at different points as a dark-colored midsize SUV and, separately, as a dark gray or black Ford Fusion — two distinct descriptions that have not been reconciled in the information released so far.
Detectives Seeking Witnesses and Tips
The Camden County Prosecutor’s Office is asking anyone with information about the crash to contact Detective Samuel Funches III at 856-225-8083. No further details about the vehicles, their drivers, or the sequence of the collision have been released.
Route 73 has been the site of other fatal hit-and-run cases involving cyclists in South Jersey. In Mount Laurel, a 40-year-old California man, Thair Maroki of El Cajon, was arrested and charged after police said he fled following the death of a man riding an electric bicycle, per New Jersey 101.5. That investigation began after officers were called to Route 73 South just after midnight on Dec. 29 for a report of an unresponsive man lying on the roadway shoulder; the Jeep Cherokee involved was later found in Lyndhurst on New Year’s Day, the outlet reported.
A Pattern of Danger for People on Bikes
Cyclist and pedestrian safety has drawn sustained attention from researchers and state officials in New Jersey. A report from the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University found nearly 6,000 crashes involving pedestrians and cyclists under 18 statewide between 2016 and 2020, with 50 children killed in that span after being struck while walking or biking. The Rutgers researchers also found that roughly half of those crashes happened within a quarter-mile of a school, and the study was funded by the New Jersey Department of Transportation with support from the Federal Highway Administration.
Rahman’s death adds to a string of recent hit-and-run cases striking cyclists in the region. Elsewhere in South Jersey, an 18-year-old Deptford man was arrested after officials said he struck and killed a bicyclist and fled the scene in March, according to NBC Philadelphia. For now, the circumstances of Rahman’s death remain under investigation, with detectives still working to identify the vehicles and drivers who left him on the highway.
