Cyclist In Critical Condition After SUV Driver Hits Him In Queens

WOODHAVEN, QUEENS — A cyclist is in critical condition after an SUV driver struck him in Queens early Wednesday.

The 28-year-old cyclist is fighting for his life at Jamaica Hospital after the crash about 12:30 a.m. in Woodhaven, police said.

He was biking on Jamaica Avenue across Woodhaven Boulevard when a 38-year-old man heading north on Woodhaven in a Nissan Rogue SUV slammed into him, the NYPD's Collision Investigation Squad found.

There were no arrests as of 8:15 a.m. Wednesday.

This accident occurred in my district. Clearly more needs to be done to protect cyclists and pedestrians at busy intersections. @NYC_DOT should start by planning and installing safer bike lanes. The current network (or lack thereof) in South Queens is a big part of the problem https://t.co/YeNwwzyhoi
— Eric Ulrich (@eric_ulrich) July 24, 2019

The unnamed Queens cyclist was the third cyclist hit in 24 hours. The crash happened hours after a box truck hit and killed a cyclist in Greenpoint, becoming the 17th cyclist to lose their life so far this year.

Just hours before the Greenpoint cyclist lost his life, teen cyclist Alex Cordero was killed in Staten Island, according to Streetsblog.

Ten cyclists died in all of 2018.

The City Council on Tuesday voted to allow cyclists to follow pedestrian walk signs after a NYC Department of Transportation showed the change would make cyclists safer, according to the New York Post.

"Treating bicycles like cars is at the heart of why cyclists continue to suffer and die," City Council Member Carlos Menchaca of Brooklyn said Tuesday.