By Bill Parry
The widow of Gelacio Reyes, the cyclist who was struck and killed by an alleged drunk and unlicensed driver at a Sunnyside intersection April 2, joined City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside) Thursday morning as he demanded immediate action to make the area safer.
Flor Jimenez tried to speak but was too overcome with emotion as she stood at the intersection where another cyclist, David Nunez, was struck by a box truck and seriously injured Tuesday morning.
“This is not a Vision Zero success story,” Van Bramer said. “We’ve had one man killed here and now another man is fighting for his life. We need DOT to immediately conduct a serious comprehensive study. It has to be made safer right away. We can’t wait months or years.”
Members of the Nunez family had planned to join Van Bramer as well, but stayed at Elmhurst Hospital Center where Nunez was rushed after the 23-year-old was hit by the truck while making a right turn off 43rd Avenue onto 39th Street, according to an NYPD spokesman. Nunez is in critical but stable condition with a lacerated spleen and multiple rib fractures, according to sources.
The truck’s driver, Francis O’Brien, 61, remained at the scene and was arrested and charged with failure to yield to a bicyclist and failure to exercise due care, the police spokesman said. The NYPD issued a desk appearance ticket that is returnable July 7, according to the Queens DA’s office.
Reyes, a 32-year-old married father of three was struck and killed in the same intersection 10 days earlier while riding to his home in Corona after working in Manhattan.
Woodside resident Cristian Guiracocha, 25, was arrested hours later. He was charged with driving under the influence, aggravated unlicensed driving and refusal to take a breath test, the Queens DA said.
Guiracocha was released on $100,000 bail and is due back in court April 14, according to the DA’s office.
Van Bramer is calling for a protected bike lane on 43rd Street from Queens Boulevard to Roosevelt Avenue, along with other safety measures. As for 39th Street, it is heavily traveled by trucks and other vehicles and the intersection with 43rd Avenue is just a half block from the Sunnyside Community Services center, which has a senior center and a Universal pre-K.
“There was a time when Queens Boulevard was known as the Boulevard of Death. We changed that,” he said. “Their have been no deaths on Queens Boulevard in 2 1/2 years. That should be replicated here on 43rd Avenue.”
Van Bramer sent a letter to DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg demanding that safety improvements happen right away before anyone else gets hurt or killed at 43rd Avenue and 39th Street.
“The April 1st fatal crash was the first traffic fatality at this intersection since at least 2009,” a DOT spokeswoman said. “DOT will study the intersection for potential safety enhancements.”
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparr
