Brooklyn Car Crash Leads To 19th Cyclist Death, Police Say

MIDWOOD, BROOKLYN — New York City's cycling death toll for the year rose to 19 Sunday afternoon when a Midwood car crash sent an SUV careening into a biker, police said.

A teenage driver heading south on Coney Island Avenue in a 2019 Dodge Charger ran a red light and T-boned a 2018 Honda traveling east on Avenue L shortly before 12:30 p.m., according to the NYPD and video of the crash.

The collision sent the SUV sliding into the southeast corner of the intersection, where it slammed into 52-year-old Jose Alzorriz of Park Slope, police said. Debris from the vehicle also hit and injured a 52-year-old pedestrian who was on the sidewalk, according to the NYPD.

Medics found Alzorriz with injuries to his head and body and rushed him to NYC Health and Hospitals/Coney Island, where he was pronounced dead, police said. The pedestrian and the Honda's 39-year-old driver were brought to Maimonides Medical Center with leg and body injuries, respectively, according to police.

The 18-year-old driver who hit the Honda stayed at the scene of the crash but has not been arrested, an NYPD spokesperson said. Cops are still investigating the collision, police said.

Alzorriz is the 19th bicyclist to be killed in a traffic crash so far this year, up from 10 such deaths in all of 2018. His death was the 14th to occur on Brooklyn's streets.

The crash occurred in a part of Brooklyn with few bike lanes. Thomas DeVito, the senior director of advocacy at Transportation Alternatives, called Coney Island Avenue a "hostile environment" for pedestrians and cyclists and said thoroughfares like it should be redesigned.

"When drivers speed and run red lights, the potential for a tragedy is far greater than when a pedestrian or a cyclist disobeys a traffic signal," DeVito said in a statement. "This horrific crash should serve as a reminder of the enormous responsibility that comes with driving a multi-ton motorized vehicle in New York City."

Correction: An earlier version of this article misstated the number of cycling deaths that have occurred in Brooklyn. It is 14, not 13.