An FDNY pickup truck driver hit and killed a 24-year-old cyclist in Park Slope on Wednesday night.
The cyclist, Bronx resident Victor Hidalgo, was riding east on Sackett Street when the driver struck him at the intersection of 4th Avenue.
Per the FDNY, the driver was responding to a 911 call for a baby choking at the time of the crash, and had his emergency lights on as he crossed through the intersection. It was not immediately clear if the siren was also activated, or if the truck driver — who was headed northbound on 4th Avenue — had a green light.
The driver stopped and stayed at the scene, according to the NYPD. Paramedics brought Hidalgo to NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Hidalgo was a delivery worker, and is survived by his wife and 1-year-old son, who live in his native Mexico, according to Streetsblog.
Hidalgo was at least the 22nd cyclist killed in New York City this year, according to Department of Transportation data, and the seventh to be killed in Brooklyn. At least ten of the citywide cyclist fatalities involved pickup trucks, box trucks, or tractor-trailers, the data shows.
Sackett Street, where Hidalgo was riding, has a painted bike lane that overlaps with the vehicle traffic lane, with no physical separation. Fourth Avenue is notoriously dangerous for bike riders — a 49-year-old cyclist was killed by a pickup truck driver at the intersection of 4th Avenue and 53rd Street in May, and dozens more cyclists have been injured on the avenue this year, per DOT data.
