NYPD Wants Driver In Fatal East Village Collision To Be 'Held Accountable'

EAST VILLAGE, NY — An NYPD lieutenant investigating the April 5 collision that fatally wounded a cyclist as she biked through an East Village intersection said Tuesday he would recommend to prosecutors that the driver involved be "held accountable."

"My own opinion is, I'm going to be recommending the driver be held accountable," Lt. Brian Reynolds said on Tuesday night. "I can't explain to you exactly what it's going to be right now, but after what I've seen, he's going to be held accountable, at least on my end, from my office."

Reynolds, commanding officer of the NYPD's collision investigation squad, addressed the crash that killed cyclist Kelly Hurley at Tuesday's community council meeting for the NYPD's 9th precinct, which includes the East Village.

Reynolds declined to specify what exact recommendations he would make to the Manhattan district attorney's office, and did not confirm that the driver would necessarily be charged. Any criminal charges filed will ultimately be determined by prosecutors. The 59-year-old driver, who police have not identified, has been issued a summons for a missing crossover mirror on his truck, police said. No charges have yet been filed against the driver and the collision remains under investigation.

Hurley, 31, was biking north up First Avenue just after 7 a.m. in the street's designated bike lane before the collision. Authorities say that the driver of the delivery truck, who was also driving up First Avenue, was turning left onto East Ninth Street when he struck Hurley as she continued north through the intersection. The driver turned left from the farthest lane to the right, cutting across four lanes of traffic, when he entered the intersection, according to authorities. Reynolds said Tuesday that Hurley had entered the intersection — known as a "mixing zone" — before the driver. Mixing zones are areas of the road where a bike lane merges with a left-hand turn lane. Drivers are permitted to make left turns at the intersection but cyclists are meant to have the right of way.

"Ms. Hurley tried her best to avoid the truck, but unfortunately she couldn't," Reynolds said Tuesday. Hurley fell off her bike and landed underneath the truck. She died from her injuries about a week after the collision. Reynolds said video surveillance from the scene had captured the crash on camera.

Reynolds urged patience as the case continues, noting that the NYPD's investigation was ongoing.

"We investigate as thoroughly as possible," he said. "On the surface, Ms. Kelly Hurley's case seems like a simple right of way, but we want to make sure every i is dotted, every t is crossed before we approach the [district attorney]. We want these charges to stick."

In the wake of Hurley's death, NYC cyclists have criticized the design of mixing zones like the one in which Hurley was fatally injured. The nonprofit Transportation Alternatives has called on the city to update such intersections more traffic signals. The department has denied that the design of the intersection contributed to the collision.

Dozens of frustrated East Village cyclists at Tuesday's meeting asked the NYPD to increase enforcement against unlawful drivers. Many cyclists claimed that drivers regularly ignore a bike's right of way in a mixing zone.

Abigail Johnson, a cyclist and East Village resident, called on the ninth precinct to increase enforcement, and said she often observed cars ignoring cyclists' right of way in mixing zones.

"What are you going to do about this issue?" Johnson asked officers on Tuesday. "Cars constantly cut off bikers and they constantly almost run over pedestrians and I don't ever see a squad car on the side of the street pulling over cars that are continuously violating that [right of way law] by failing to yield."

Johnson told Patch that she commutes most places via bike, and that she frequently encounters cars that cut of her off when she has the right of way.

All images via Ciara McCarthy/Patch.