An unlicensed moped rider from Ozone Park fatally struck an elderly Springfield Gardens man who was walking across 93rd Avenue at 168th Street in Jamaica while in the crosswalk, on the evening of Friday, Dec. 5, according to the NYPD.
Police from the 103rd Precinct in Jamaica responded to a 911 call of a pedestrian struck at the intersection just after 6:30 p.m., near the Home Depot and found the injured senior with severe trauma to the head. The moped rider who crashed into him remained at the scene.
EMS transported the victim to Jamaica Hospital medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. He was later identified as Trevor Lloyd Samuels, a 68-year-old grandfather from 145th Road in Springfield Gardens, just over four miles from the scene of the fatal collision.
The moped rider, Yunior Buleje Rodriguez, 26, of 107th Street in Ozone Park, was transported to NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens, where he was listed in stable condition, police said.
The NYPD Highway District’s Collision Investigation Squad determined that Samuels was in the crosswalk at the southwest corner of 93rd Avenue walking toward the northwest corner when Rodriguez, who was riding a 2025 Zhilong Q-Max moped westbound on 93rd Avenue, crashed into the victim. He was later arrested and charged with aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, police said.
Rodriguez was issued a desk appearance ticket that is returnable on Tuesday, Dec. 23, according to the Queens District Attorney’s office.
