A bicyclist died after colliding with a box truck in Greenpoint on Tuesday.
The 58-year-old cyclist was in the southbound lane of McGuinness Boulevard near Norman Avenue at 3:51 p.m., when he “made contact” with a box truck heading in the same direction, according to a police spokesman, who could not provide more specific information regarding an investigation conducted by the Police Department’s Collision Investigation Squad.
Paramedics rushed the man to Bellevue Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to authorities.
No arrests have been made in the case, and police are withholding the victim’s name until his family can be notified, the Police Department spokesman said.
The Brooklyn biker is the 17th cyclist to die on city streets this year. His death came just hours after a tow truck in Staten Island fatally struck a cyclist at around noon Tuesday, and a few hours before a driver collided with a bicyclist in Queens shortly after midnight Wednesday, leaving him in critical condition, according to police.
He is also the 12th Brooklyn cyclist to die in a motor-vehicle collision this year. He follows Bushwick resident Devra Freelander, who was struck and killed by a cement truck in Williamsburg on July 1.
In the wake of Tuesday’s fatalities, bike advocates pounced on Mayor Bill de Blasio for failing to make busy streets such as McGuinness Boulevard — which does not benefit from a bike lane — safer for cyclists.
“These crashes are tragic examples of what happens in a city that purports to welcome cyclists but fails to dedicate protected space for bikes on the vast majority of its streets,” said Thomas DeVito, director of advocacy for Transportation Alternatives.
DeVito went on to demand the swift installation of a 100-mile protected bike lane network in the next two years and to immediately redesign every street where a serious crash occurs.
Lastly, the bike advocate challenged de Blasio to hit the saddle to experience the hazards of cycling in the five boroughs for himself.
“We call on Mayor de Blasio to join us on a bike ride so he can experience firsthand the reality New York City cyclists face every day,” DeVito said.
