A College Point man was killed while cycling through Corona when a motorist opened his car door without checking to see if anyone was approaching his vehicle on Monday evening.
Police say Cristian Villiafuerte Vazquez, 26, of 126th Street, was riding a Citi Bike northbound on 108th Street near 38th Avenue just after 6:30 p.m. when he was “doored” by the 25-year-old driver of a 2014 BMW 3201 who had just parked near the intersection. The impact of the collision ejected the victim from the e-bike onto the roadway.
Police from the 115th Precinct responded to a 911 call of a motor vehicle collision involving a cyclist at the location where they found Vazquez had sustained severe head trauma. EMS rushed him to Elmhurst Hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short while later, police said. The man who doored him was not injured during the collision and remained on scene.
There are no arrests as of Wednesday morning and the investigation remains ongoing by the NYPD Highway District’s Collision Investigation Squad.
According to New York State Vehicle & Traffic Law Section 2014, no person shall open the door of a motor vehicle on the side available to moving traffic unless and until it is reasonably safe to do so, and can be done without interfering with the movement of other traffic, nor shall any person leave a door open on the side of a vehicle available to moving traffic for a period of time longer than necessary to load or unload passengers.
