Woman Fatally Hit By E-Bicyclist In Astoria Crosswalk, Says NYPD

ASTORIA, QUEENS — A 54-year-old woman was crossing the street around the corner from her Astoria home on Friday night when she was fatally struck by an E-bike driver, police said.

At 8:39 p.m. on Friday, May 28, the woman was walking across 21st Avenue in a marked crosswalk at the intersection with 31st Street, when a 26-year-old man traveling on an E-bike down 21st Avenue slammed into her, according to the NYPD.

Police said that the woman, who the New York Daily News identified as Kelly Killian, was knocked to the ground by the bicyclist and hit her head on the pavement. She was immediately taken to the hospital in critical condition and died on Saturday, according to the Daily News.

Killian’s mother, Rosemary Killian, told the Daily News that she doesn’t blame the cyclist for her daughter’s death.

“My gut feeling is that this was an accident. This man did not come out to kill anybody on his bicycle,” Killian’s mother said. “It’s dreadful. I can only put myself in his place, how I would feel if I had taken somebody’s life.”

The cyclist remained at the scene after the accident and hasn’t been charged as of Tuesday, according to police who told Patch that “there are no arrests and the investigation is ongoing.”

This accident comes shortly after 2021 was deemed the second-deadliest traffic year under Mayor Bill de Blasio — especially for pedestrians who comprise 43 of the 70 traffic deaths from January 1 to April 30 of this year, according to city data highlighted by Transportation Alternatives.

According to the data, E-bike crashes that are fatal to pedestrians occur relatively infrequently in the city as compared to the number of deaths caused by reckless drivers.

Since 2018, at least 10 pedestrians have been injured in crashes at the intersection at 21st Avenue and 31st Street, according to the city's Vision Zero data.