[Photo via Facebook]
Kelly Hurley, who was struck by a box truck while biking on First Avenue at Ninth Street on April 5, has died from her injuries. She was 31.
Hurley, who lived on the Lower East Side, was riding in the northbound bike lane around 7:20 a.m. According to published reports, a box truck driver, also traveling north, made a left turn onto Ninth Street and struck Hurley, who had the right of way. The Daily News reported that she "skidded to try and avoid the truck, but it slammed into her."
The driver remained at the scene. He has not been charged. The investigation is ongoing.
This past Sunday, a friend said that, despite her significant injuries, doctors had been optimistic that she would recover. However, there were complications from one of the surgeries, the friend said. Doctors removed her from life support on Tuesday, DNAinfo reported.
For the past two-and-a-half years, she worked as the senior studio manager of training and development at SoulCycle. Hurley was a 2007 graduate of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
She was also the co-founder of the Movemeant Foundation, an organization that provides "body-positive, self-confidence building tools, resources and experiences" for girls and women.
On Tuesday evening, a group of 12-15 cyclists placed flowers at the scene where the collision took place.
[Photo from Tuesday]
The 9th precinct was giving tickets to people riding slow bike share bicycles right next to where she was killed.
ReplyDeleteNot ticketing speeding drivers, not ticketing drivers failing to yield to people crossing the street in the crosswalk with the light .
No word from our city council member, Rosie Mendez. Not a word from Carlina Rivera, who wishes to be our next representative.
CM Jimmy Van Bremmer held two press conferences this week after a man was killed while riding his bicycle, calling DOT to make physical changes to the street so that more people will not die.
The mixing zones on first avenue needs to be re designed so that nobody else will be killed like that. The woman did everything "right ": riding in a protected bike lane, wearing a helmet. She was not protected because the street is still designed in a way that allows truck drivers to turn while speeding and kill.
Same thing on Second Avenue who is also missing concrete pedestrian islands. The painted island are being used as parking spots for the police men and women's personal vehicles.
Those merging lanes where vehicles cross bike lanes are murderous and need more traffic lights and better signage. No comment from our Elect or her successor regarding an accident that happened blocks from their political club's location??? Vote for change - vote for Jasmin Sanchez! She's visible and cares about the average individual in our district.
DeleteAfter bloomber redisigned the roads in order to be safet for bicyclist. People started getting killed. We should go back to how it used to be a
DeleteSo no more people get killed for an idea to get less cars on the street.
Oh what a sad and terrible loss. My heart aches for her friends and family.
ReplyDeleteOh no :(
ReplyDeleteThis is heartbreaking. So young and beautiful. This sucks. I can't imagine what her family is going through. We all just never know what is going to happen to us as we leave our doors, especially in this crazy city. My warmest thoughts and condolences go to her family and friends. RIP, dear Kelly.
NYPD's response is so terribly shortsighted and yet -- given their enforcement track record -- predictable. And as a result these lanes continue to be unregulated and horribly dangerous to the riders they were created to protect -- adding a false sense of security.
ReplyDeleteThis is very sad, my sympathy to her family and all her friends and colleagues.
ReplyDeleteEven with a law that gives a cyclist the right of way it is sometimes impossible to know for sure that the driver of a vehicle has seen you when approaching an intersection. This applies to pedestrian as well although we do not move at the same speed as a typical bicycle.
I truly hope our local and city officials are taking this hazard seriously and are already considering solutions. Unless something changes quickly more lives will be at risk.
How is this not the fault of the driver?
ReplyDeleteCause the city doesn't care about bikes, and blames the bike riders for everything. See how a rider get killed by a truck driver that broke the law. Yet, the city goes on a blitz to fine bike riders as a direct response to the tragedy.
DeleteOh I am so very very sorry, I had been cheered by the news she'd be okay, but now... my sincere condolences to her family and friends, and Kelly, lovely young woman that you are, please rest in peace.
ReplyDeleteEchoing Anon. 6.37,where is the response from our term -limited Councilwoman, or her "cut from the same cloth" would - be successor?
Why isn't the driver being held responsible? This is ridiculous. He took a life. He should be arrested and booked.
ReplyDeleteCause the city doesn't care about bikes, and blames the bike riders for everything. See how a rider get killed by a truck driver that broke the law. Yet, the city goes on a blitz to fine bike riders as a direct response to the tragedy.
DeleteI am sorry to hear of the death of this vibrant young woman, who seems to have been making a difference in this world. My condolences to her family and friends.
ReplyDeletestill not a word from elected representatives
ReplyDeleteThe loving artistic way that the flowers are arranged is bitter sweet to say the least... It looks like the vine is sending the dearly departed to heaven. Off you go! So sad!
ReplyDeleteThis was a very tragic accident and we should mourn the loss of this vibrant young soul, not look at placing blame on her or the driver. If there is blame to be placed it is squarely in the lap of the City that just rushed out bike lanes and City Bike and pedestrian islands without ever considering the impact it would have on all of us.
ReplyDeleteHow many of these tragedies and the lack of action towards the illegal atrocities of drivers does it take till the city is culpable and sueable?
ReplyDeleteAside from the driver. The city, and their lack of action towards driver is 100% responsible for this poor girls death. I hope her family look at the stats towards the cities reaction to these tragedies and sues the city. These left hand turns are known death traps!!!! But the city doesn't care...
Hey anon 12:08, the city can fix the situation in a day
ReplyDeletesee here:http://nyc.streetsblog.org/2017/04/13/a-plea-for-dot-to-design-protected-bike-lanes-with-safer-intersections/
There are many possible scenarios for this accident with varying degrees of fault or responsibility. Turning at the same time as vehicle is inherently dangerous for a cyclist and a driver would not necessarily see someone who is alongside his truck. It would make a difference who started the turn first. Did she start the turn, and the driver turned into her? Or did he start, and did she tragically decide that she could pass on his left? Also possible is that he started his turn without looking to his left, and she had to turn to avoid a collision. I don't see how anyone can assign blame without viewing the accident. Supposedly there is a video.
ReplyDelete@anon 12:08, there were cyclists riding all the time in the city before bike lanes and citibikes and islands. Those things have made riding safer, not less safe. Also the city did not rush out bike lanes, they followed a process, though perhaps you yourself were not ready for it. Personally I felt it took too long.
ReplyDeleteIn Amsterdam, when one learns to drive, it is drilled emphatically that one must look in the bike lane behind before making turns. We can have that culture here, but we need to start it. It would be worthwhile, even if it takes a generation before it sinks in. Biking is a sustainable part of our transportation future. The answer is not in rolling back that progress.
This is a horrible horrible tragedy and such a sad waste of a beautiful young life. Condolences to her loved ones.
The mixing zone concept simply doesn't work. It's not analogous to pedestrians also crossing in the same direction - because pedestrians don't move as quickly as bikes, which come up quickly on a turning vehicle. And the bike lanes are right on top of the vehicle lanes, whereas pedestrians crossing are further off the avenue, giving the driver of the vehicle more time to see them and react.
ReplyDeleteNY needs a different system for bikes - one in which they have their own traffic lights, and in which left hand turns are banned alongside bike lanes. Which will never happen considering the vehicle friendly nature of the city.
Let's not combine compassion for this poor young lady, and uninformed rants about the driver in a situation no one here knows anything about. This is terrible. So are those turning lanes. A driver turning left has little hope of seeing a bicyclist while trying to negotiate that insanely idiotic turning lane. And if not from around here, you wouldn't even know that someone put a bike lane along the curb, hidden behind parked cars.
ReplyDeleteLet's not allow her death to be in vain. If we can make changes to make cycling in the city safer, the city has to be on board. I plan to speak out at the next community meeting and hope other people will too. There is a lot that both cyclists and auto/truck drivers could do to make getting around safer.
ReplyDeleteWhen is the next community board meeting?
ReplyDeleteYesterday was nearly hit by a bus turning left and was obeying every rule of the road. I could tell the bus driver did not see me and did not seem to care to look. I find it very disturbing that after another tragic incident where a bicyclist is the victim of a larger and more powerful vehicle, that the administrative reaction is to punish the victim by ticketing bicyclists. They're sending a message both to NYPD and the public that the bad guy here is apparently the "irresponsible "bicyclist. My concern is that it will further immunize motor vehicles and their drivers of responsibility for consequences of negligent or reckless behavior. Sharing the streets is a serious obligation and when our public authority sends the wrong or mixed messages, I believe when we do this, we're going in the wrong direction.
ReplyDeleteNYPD, please consider paying attention to unyielding drivers of motor vehicles.
Chris B.,
ReplyDeleteCommunity Board 3, Full Board Meeting
Tuesday, April 25, 2017 - 6:30 pm
PS 20 - 166 Essex Street (E Houston & Stanton Sts)
Also there is the 9th Precinct Community Council, where the commanding officer usually presides and gives a report of activities for the month, this Tuesday, 7 PM, at 321 East Fifth Street, between Second and First avenues. You may question why he ordered his police to ticket cyclists rather than snag drivers who were speed-turning left.
ReplyDeleteThere are two reasons they ticket cyclists: (1.) a much higher proportion of cyclists commit infractions, such as going through red lights, and (2.) it is much easier to ticket them than motor vehicle drivers. Virtually all motorist stop at red lights, but very few bikers do so. Bikers commit far more infractions, so it makes sense to go after them. It makes no sense to have a cop standing by to ticket the fraction of one percent of drivers who run red lights. Cabbies are a somewhat different story, as they frequently speed up at yellow caution lights, but it would be difficult to target them.
ReplyDelete