Commuting - NYC cyclist killed on West side bike path !!

Yet another senseless tragedy.

http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=1&aid=64753

http://www.gothamist.com/archives/2006/12/02/drunk_driver_ki.php


Makes me sick.

That is ****ed up. At least they're throwing the book at the guy. Unlike the little 19-year old b1tch.

Dunno about throwing the book at him. He hasn't been charged yet. The story says he's "facing" charges (manslaughter, DWI and reckless driving). It's sad that someone who was teaching kids was killed. We need all the teachers we can get.

I meant at least he's facing those charges, that other chick faced nothing more than a slap on the wrist. And I got a feeling NYC is a lot tougher. He'll get at least a week or so in jail.

I meant at least he's facing those charges, that other chick faced nothing more than a slap on the wrist. And I got a feeling NYC is a lot tougher. He'll get at least a week or so in jail.
She didn't get charged with anything?
Damn.

She didn't get charged with anything?
Damn.

"Wrongful lane change." It would be funny if it weren't so tragic.

"Wrongful lane change."
Oh hell that's a disgrace.
But back to the current story, I mourn the death of the cyclist that was hit, and hope his family and friends all the best.

I meant at least he's facing those charges, that other chick faced nothing more than a slap on the wrist. And I got a feeling NYC is a lot tougher. He'll get at least a week or so in jail.


The ONLY reason this guy will get a stiffer sentence is because he was drunk. Drunk, without a license, or fleeing from police is the only way.

A sober person with a license can kill prettymuch anyone they want with their car.

That is ****ed up. At least they're throwing the book at the guy. Unlike the little 19-year old b1tch.

My thoughts exactly.

This is the 2nd person killed on that bike path this year. The first guy, a doctor, was killed by an NYPD tow truck driver and didn't get charged with anything. Hopefully this time around, the DA will put this guy away for a long time.

*thinks good thoughts for the family*
in the gothamist article it seems there are several issues with that WEst Side path/highway

I meant at least he's facing those charges, that other chick faced nothing more than a slap on the wrist. And I got a feeling NYC is a lot tougher. He'll get at least a week or so in jail.

He ought to get jail time just for driving on the bikeway. DIdn't we just up the penalty for deaths that result from drunk driving?

A mile on the bike path before the killing...madness.
How is it different from the roadway?

I'd like to point out though, this has nothing to do with cyclists being a victim as a whole. He was a cyclist but he could very well have been a jogger, construction worker, the mayor and his entire protective crew going out for a jog, etc.

no no I wasn't going there slvoid, I mean how is the path separated / marked differently from the roadway?
Trying to thing how damned blind drunk you'd have to be to head down the path.

WE had a drunk hop the sidewalk after leaving a fight with his GF and killed a jogger. 100km in a 50 on his way home. Husband and four kids under 10....

IMHO if you get behind the wheel drunk and get caught there should be a serious damned charge. We have a serial drunk driver as well in the courts, suspended licence and still he gets loaded and behind the wheel. Shameful..... and the perps are young too, they've been listening the warning since they were babies. If I'm driving I might have a glass of wine with dinner, but that's it. Just boogles my mind.

I saw this in the paper this morning. It's terrible. I mean, how drunk did this a**wipe have to be to be unable to tell the difference between the bike path and West Street, for God's sake?

slvoid is right -- it could have been anyone, cyclist, skater, pedestrian or worker. I don't see this as the City's fault. The City did, after all, create a separate bike path along the west side. But the government can't protect us against every drunken fool who's so inebriated he can't tell up from down.

A mile on the bike path before the killing...madness.
How is it different from the roadway?

It's a two lane road that's physically separated from the highway with a raised median containing trees, bushes, and lights. There are actually "bobs" or some kind of flexible barrier that prevents cars from entering at some intersections. There are bicycle icon traffic lights and the pavement is marked with very large reflective cycling icons similar to this (http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/gif/mwg/2_3_2_2_142ndharlemrenderin.jpg)

....build it idiot proof and along comes a bigger idiot. *Shakes head sadly*
Damn that's a sweeeet path....even I'd use it. My wife wants us all to visit NYC (she LOVES it there), I'd kinda like to ride an afternoon while the girlies shop their faces off.

no no I wasn't going there slvoid, I mean how is the path separated / marked differently from the roadway?
Trying to thing how damned blind drunk you'd have to be to head down the path.

In this case, the path is really clearly separated from the roadway. There's a physical barrier between West Street (a major north-south traffic artery in Manhattan) and the bike path. What happened, as far as I can tell, was that the driver was leaving a facility on one side of the path, and would have had to cross the path to get to West Street. Instead of crossing the path and turning south on West Street, he simply turned south on the bike path and drove for quite some distance until he struck the cyclist.

At most of the intersections along the bike path, there are lights and fairly clear markings. The West Side Greenway is pretty well laid out, and it's really hard to mistake the bike path for the roadway. The driver must have been pretty hammered.



IMHO if you get behind the wheel drunk and get caught there should be a serious damned charge. We have a serial drunk driver as well in the courts, suspended licence and still he gets loaded and behind the wheel. Shameful..... and the perps are young too, they've been listening the warning since they were babies. If I'm driving I might have a glass of wine with dinner, but that's it. Just boogles my mind.

I believe that there are serious charges available to the District Attorney in cases like this. Vehicular manslaughter comes to mind. If there's a conviction (or a plea), serious jail time is a real possibility (as it should be, of course). I'm guessing the driver hasn't been charged yet because (a) there has to be an investigation and (b) this happened late on Friday night, so the courts were closed and nothing could be done until Monday anyway.

Having been that hammered to the point of not remembering how I got home, I still remember the difficulty in operating my complicated key and lock on the front door (amazing how those keyholes wiggle). I'd not even be able to get in let start and drive away.

Having been that hammered to the point of not remembering how I got home, I still remember the difficulty in operating my complicated key and lock on the front door (amazing how those keyholes wiggle). I'd not even be able to get in let start and drive away.

Oh, sure, we've all been there. But even when I've been a bit smashed, there's a part of my brain that says sober enough to say, "hey, maybe you'd better not get behind the wheel tonight, OK?"

I guess he wasn't so drunk that he couldn't get the key in the ignition. But it seems obvious that his judgment was impaired to the point where he couldn't distinguish between the roadway and the bike path (for a mile!).

Think of the Westside Greenway as the Martin Goodman trail in Toronto only straighter and longer. The only thing keeping cars from accidentally driving onto the bikepath is that at Chelsea Piers, there's no yellow metal pole in the middle of the trail that would physically stop a car from getting on.

What happened, as far as I can tell, was that the driver was leaving a facility on one side of the path, and would have had to cross the path to get to West Street. Instead of crossing the path and turning south on West Street, he simply turned south on the bike path and drove for quite some distance until he struck the cyclist.

At most of the intersections along the bike path, there are lights and fairly clear markings. The West Side Greenway is pretty well laid out, and it's really hard to mistake the bike path for the roadway. The driver must have been pretty hammered.



Or if the West Side Highway was backed up, which is fairly common on a Friday night, the driver may have been using the bikeway as a short-cut.

frightening

Or if the West Side Highway was backed up, which is fairly common on a Friday night, the driver may have been using the bikeway as a short-cut.
I've never seen that happen and I hope even the idiot fringe of cagers in the city don't think that's a viable option. The only motor vehicles on the greenway that I've ever seen are parks department or NYPD.

I've never seen that happen and I hope even the idiot fringe of cagers in the city don't think that's a viable option. The only motor vehicles on the greenway that I've ever seen are parks department or NYPD.

Same here. I've seen parks department vehicles on the path, either scooters or those little utility vehicles they use. I've seen police scooters and once in a while a police horse.

Same here. I've seen parks department vehicles on the path, either scooters or those little utility vehicles they use. I've seen police scooters and once in a while a police horse.

I ride the bike path several times a week and it's not unusual to see a stray cab or tourist wander onto the path between 42nd Street and the heliport. I'm pretty sure there used to be a flexible barrier around 17th Street. It wasn't enough to stop cars from entering the bikeway but they had to slow down to make it through the space.

Stacy is right. People get confused around 42nd Street. I mean, it's a HIGHWAY in NEW YORK CITY. Double-stress driving. I can't imagine that this guy didn't accidentally get on the bike path, thinking it was a feeder to the West Side Highway. And once you're on, well...you might as well head on even after you've realized it was a mistake. But. . . how fast would he have to be going not to see a cyclist DEAD AHEAD? And for the cyclist not to have seen the oncoming headlights? Unless he couldn't believe that the headlights were actually on the bike path. Or...the guy dimmed his lights cause he knew he was in the wrong lane.
At least he stayed and turned himself in.
Poor kid. The cyclist, I mean.

Good but sad story in the NY Times
Drunken Driver Kills Rider On Bicycle Path, Police Say (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/03/nyregion/03bike.html?_r=1&oref=slogin)

So sad that someone who worked for bike advocacy would get killed while biking on an effin' bike path. I think I knew him from Times-Up too. :( :(

I ride the bike path several times a week and it's not unusual to see a stray cab or tourist wander onto the path between 42nd Street and the heliport. I'm pretty sure there used to be a flexible barrier around 17th Street. It wasn't enough to stop cars from entering the bikeway but they had to slow down to make it through the space.

Your previous post implied that some motorists intentionally used the MUP as an auto shortcut, and that's what I meant to say I'd never seen.

Hmmm, no helmet and possibly no lights -- maybe the drunk driver will get out of the charges. AFAIC, though, the killer should DIAF. Selfish POS b@stard.

It bugs me that the Times article linked begins with the presumption that the murderous idiot "mistakenly" drove onto the path. We don't know if that's the case, but it shows pretty clearly a bias in favor of, as usual, the driver.

Hmmm, no helmet and possibly no lights -- maybe the drunk driver will get out of the charges. AFAIC, though, the killer should DIAF. Selfish POS b@stard.

It bugs me that the Times article linked begins with the presumption that the murderous idiot "mistakenly" drove onto the path. We don't know if that's the case, but it shows pretty clearly a bias in favor of, as usual, the driver.
The more that you look at the media the more bias it is.
Like how one news report said "but the killer's DNA was recovered from the scene."
That sets up a guilty verdict if they match the DNA, they don't know that it was the killer's DNA.

I've never seen that happen and I hope even the idiot fringe of cagers in the city don't think that's a viable option. The only motor vehicles on the greenway that I've ever seen are parks department or NYPD.


I've 911'd idiots in sports cars taking the "shortcut" at rush hour on two separate occasions. SO yeah, it happens. Pretty damn rare, though... I hung out in that park through most of the day for months and months before I saw it happen for the first time. Unemployment rocked.

BTW, there may be a memorial ride for Eric later this week. Those of you who are local should try to make it. Check Times Up!'s website to see when the ride's going down. There's also a memorial ride in January for all the cyclist's killed this year.

This is the 2nd person killed on that bike path this year. The first guy, a doctor, was killed by an NYPD tow truck driver and didn't get charged with anything. Hopefully this time around, the DA will put this guy away for a long time.

I was on that dangerous bike path and there was a Ghost bicycle chained to a fence indicating someone was killed there. I think that bicycle belonged to the doctor. Very sad.

I suspect another white Ghost bicycle will be left where this young man was killed.

Times-Up actually donates those bikes and maintains them throughout the year.

What a heartbreaking story this is. What a loss. We've lost a good one.

It's really hard not to go into a flaming rage over the stupidity of this driver. I mean this drunk ahole is so totally and 100% responsible for this senseless tragedy.

my deepest sympathy to anyone who knew this cyclist and his family.

Your previous post implied that some motorists intentionally used the MUP as an auto shortcut, and that's what I meant to say I'd never seen.

This guy was drunk so we can only guess what his intensions might have been but,. even if he got on the bike path by mistake, he bypassed so many streets between 17th and Clarkson Street (actually Houston Street) where he could have gotten off the bike path.

There's a sign posted at the location that police are looking for witnesses. We're probably fortunate there was a severe weather advisory in effect earlier in the day. Otherwise the bike path might have been more cyclists who could have been hurt or killed.

930 pm on a friday night? That driver must have passed more bikers. We have to look out for one another and call these people on the dangerous and selfish crap they pull. I have definitely seen people who were "confused" on driving on the bike path. I stop them and back them up. If a driver is that unsure of where to drive, they def. do not deserve to be driving. My thoughts to the family of the victim, and different thoughts to the cops and DAs who are lenient to drivers in cases like these, and yet chase bicyclists around for minor infractions.

There is also a double yellow line down the middle of the path, both lanes together are probably the size of a regular traffic lane... and there are shrubs/walls on either side. This guy was in a single lane, straddling the double-yellow line with walls right next to him on both sides after driving through a pylon and didn't think to stop or turn back.

I feel terrible for the victim's family, and sad for the loss, and hope everyone stays safe and makes it home in one piece... and hope the driver pays an appropriate price for his callousness.

I don't even know what to say. We assume risks every day when we get on our bikes but on the path????

My sympathies to the family of Mr. Ng.

Wow that's tough :|
My condolences and thoughts go out to friends and family of Mr. Ng. Let's hope justice prevails for this man, innocently taken away from our world all for a selfish, stupid act.

If there's anyway I can get down to NYC in Jan, I will make that ride - anyone know if Toronto does a similar memorial?

RIP.

Ghost bikes and memorial rides are the norm here as well. Though I can't see a memorial ride for someone from another city being organized. I could be wrong though.

Well at least they charged this guy with vehicular manslaughter. No word on the memorial ride for him specifically still.

I hope they throw the book at him hard..... it's one thing to waste someone on the road, but this is something entirely different. Are we to start looking for drunk drivers on subway platforms and lobbies of buildings?

We went on a Times Up! memorial ride within the last year. Those of you on the same ride surely remember the pouring rain that day. It was an incredibly emotional experience to see all these other cyclists saying to hell with the terrible weather, I'm coming out to memorialize my fallen fellow cyclists.

why didn't anyone from his company try to stop him from driving? i mean, here he was at a company party getting trashed with dozens or perhaps hundreds of other people. people he works with on a daily basis.

it's his own damn fault of course, but i think people need to look our for each other and make sure they don't get into their cars when they've been drinking all night.

If I'm at a party I may not know who drives or who doesn't. Plus sometimes you 'feel' and act fine until you get outside or sit down. It was up to him to be responsible and he wasn't.

why didn't anyone from his company try to stop him from driving? i mean, here he was at a company party getting trashed with dozens or perhaps hundreds of other people. people he works with on a daily basis.

it's his own damn fault of course, but i think people need to look our for each other and make sure they don't get into their cars when they've been drinking all night.


Agreed. According to reports the driver lives in the East Village. Maybe three miles from Chelsea Piers? Someone should have just put him in a cab.