A Citi Bike rider was killed when his pedal-assist electric bike collided with a truck in Hell's Kitchen on Friday afternoon.
Emergency services first received a call at around 2:30 p.m., reporting that a 32-year-old male cyclist had been hit by a large truck at the intersection of West 50th Street and 11th Avenue, police said. The truck was being driven by a 26-year-old man. Emergency services responded to the scene and pronounced the cyclist dead at the scene.
Police closed W 50th Street at 12th Avenue and began diverting traffic east and west from W 51st Street while emergency crews dealt with the aftermath of the crash.
The Citibike was found on its side in the right lane of 11th Avenue, with the cyclist's body covered in a purple ambulance blanket. A truck bearing the Lagunitas IPA logo remained at the scene while police waited for investigators.
Police say the truck driver remained at the scene, no arrests have been made at this time and the investigation remains ongoing.
Streetsblog reported that the victim was the 11th cyclist killed in the city so far this year, according to the Department of Transport. That's down from 17 at the same time last year, but still a significant increase since the average number of cyclist deaths by this time in the Vision Zero era is around five.
