A motorist fatally struck a 65-year-old cyclist in Broad Channel on Sunday afternoon, according to authorities.
Police responded to a 911 call after a bicyclist was struck in the vicinity of 329 Cross Bay Blvd. just before 3 p.m. on Oct. 13. Upon their arrival, officers discovered cyclist Bogdan Darmetko, of Calloway Street in Corona, on the pavement with bodily injuries.
EMS arrived at the scene and transported Darmetko to St. John’s Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to authorities.
A preliminary investigation determined that a 32-year-old male was driving a 2008 Ford SUV northbound on Cross Bay Boulevard alongside the bicyclist traveling the same direction. As Darmetko approached East Fourth Road, he made a left into the path of the moving vehicle and was struck by the front driver side of the vehicle, according to authorities.
The driver remained at the scene following the collision, which is being investigated by the Highway Collision Investigation Squad.
Darmetko is the 25th cyclist to be killed on city streets this year, and second the second to be fatally struck in Queens within a month.
A truck driver fatally struck 14-year-old cyclist Mario Valenzuela, of Astoria, in Long Island City on Sept. 21, according to authorities.
And in March, 53-year-old cyclist Robert Spencer was fatally struck by a car on an uncompleted bike lane just a block from his Long Island City home.
Danny Harris, the executive director of Transportation Alternatives, released a statement Sunday night calling on Mayor Bill de Blasio to take action.
“For years, residents and activists have been demanding protected bike lanes and design changes along the Cross Bay Boulevard due to a series of traffic deaths and serious injuries along the notoriously dangerous road,” Conner said. “As our city struggles with a preventable public health crisis on our streets, made more dangerous by the proliferation of SUVs by car manufacturers, the mayor must fight for the safety of all New Yorkers by accelerating implementation of his signature Vision Zero program, specifically the Green Wave bicycling safety plan. Moreover we urge the New York City Council to pass, and the Mayor to sign, Speaker Johnson’s Streets Master Plan bill on Oct. 30 — a bill that will standardize the type of street treatments, including protected bike lanes, which will save countless lives.”
