A 15-year-old girl was killed and a 13-year-old girl was hospitalized Friday night after a commercial truck driver collided with the Citi Bike they were riding in the East Village, police said.
Photo by Dean Moses
A 15-year-old girl was killed, and a 13-year-old girl was hospitalized Friday night after a commercial truck driver collided with the Citi Bike they were riding in the East Village, police said.
Officers from the 9th and 13th Precincts and firefighters flooded the intersection of East 14th Street and 1st Avenue around 9 p.m. on Sept. 18 after the two girls were struck.
According to police sources, the 15-year-old was operating the Citi Bike with the 13-year-old riding along as a passenger. The teens were traveling westbound on East 14th Street, outside of the bike lane, when a 57-year-old man driving a commercial truck made a right turn onto First Avenue and collided with them, cops said.
The girls were thrown from the bike and onto the pavement.
EMS rushed both victims to Bellevue Hospital, where the 15-year-old was pronounced dead. Her identity was being withheld pending notification of her family. The 13-year-old was listed in stable condition.
The mangled Citi Bike remained wedged beneath the truck’s wheels late Sept. 18, with blood visible on the pavement.
“The truck was making a right onto 1st Ave when he hit them,” eyewitness Shaha told amNewYork. “He got out of the truck, pedestrians held him to make sure he didn’t run, and police were quickly on the scene. They were actually right there.”
Police said the 57-year-old driver remained at the scene following the crash. So far, no charges have been filed against him.
However, cops said a man attempted to disrupt the emergency response as first responders worked at the scene while allegedly trying to enter a nearby convenience store. Police arrested the man inside the deli. Charges were pending.
