Brooklyn bicyclist dies after being doored into Williamsburg traffic: NYPD

Colin Mixson, Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News
Updated ·2 min read
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A 64-year-old cyclist died in Brooklyn on Tuesday when a motorist swung open a car door into his path, knocking him under the wheels of a passing car, police said.

The victim was pedaling east on Broadway near Lorimer St. in Williamsburg about 7:50 a.m. when the woman opened the door of her parked Honda Accord.

Cyclists call such incidents “dooring” or “being doored.”

The bicyclist tried to avoid the door by veering to his left — and ended up falling into the path of a blue Hyundai Elantra heading in the same direction, witnesses told police.

Surveillance video shows the man falling off his bike just before the Elantra approaches.

The Elantra ran over the victim, cops said. The victim was under the Elantra as EMS arrived.

“I just saw the feet under the car,” said witness Joe Terstenyak, who works nearby. “It didn’t look like he was pinned, but he wasn’t moving.

“He was completely under,” Terstenyak said.

EMS rushed the victim to Bellevue Hospital, but he couldn’t be saved. His name was not released as police worked to track down the bicyclist’s relatives.

The drivers of both vehicles remained at the scene and were not immediately charged.

The intersection of Broadway and Lorimer St. “is dangerous for bicyclists since there is no dedicated bike lane,” said a statement from cycling advocacy group Transportation Alternatives. The road is also “filled with slip lanes that encourage speeding,” the group said.

There have been 20 serious injuries on that section of Broadway since 2022, including eight serious bicycle injuries, the group noted.

The crash happened a block from Intermediate School 318 right around the time children were on their way to school. Transportation Alternatives Executive Director Danny Harris said the group is “horrified that children witnessed the impact of a fatal crash during their morning trip to school.”

The fatal crash happened less than two blocks from where an MTA bus collided with a speeding Mercedes-Benz about 10 hours earlier.

Alex Caba-Guitierrez was ejected from the speeding red Mercedes after its driver blew a red light and was struck by the B48 bus at the corner of Harrison Ave. and Lorimer St. in Williamsburg about 9:45 p.m. on Monday, cops said.

EMS rushed Caba-Guitierrez to Bellevue Hospital, where he died. The driver of the Mercedes and at least four others crawled out of the mangled wreck and ran off on foot, cops said.