A 49-year-old Williamsburg man was hit and killed by an e-bike rider in Greenpoint on Friday.
Luis Cruz was crossing Franklin Street in the middle of the block between India and Java streets at about 7:40 p.m. on March 21 when a 26-year-old e-bike rider slammed into him, police said. The impact knocked him to the ground, and he suffered severe head trauma.
The e-bike rider, who has not been named, stopped and remained on the scene, per the NYPD. An ambulance transported Cruz to NYC Health+Hospitals/Bellevue, where he later died.
No arrests had been made as of Monday afternoon, and an investigation into the crash was ongoing.
According to Gothamist, Cruz had just stepped out of his double-parked car when he was hit — and the e-bike rider had allegedly just run a stop sign. It was not immediately clear how fast the e-bike rider was traveling at the time of the crash. In New York City, certain e-bikes with a throttle and pedals are restricted to 20 mph, while others can travel up to 25 mph. Cops said the e-bike involved in Friday’s crash had pedals, but it was not clear if it would be required to travel at 20 or 25 mph.
As e-bikes and scooters have become more popular in New York City, injuries and fatalities associated with the vehicles have skyrocketed. Between 2017 and 2023, injuries associated with “motorized two-wheel” vehicles jumped 350%, according to a report by the city’s Department of Transportation, and fatalities have risen 150%. In 2023, more than 200 pedestrians in New York City were struck by “motorized two-wheelers” including e-bikes, mopeds, and e-scooters, and about the same number were struck by riders on traditional, nonelectric bicycles.
In a bid to regulate electric two-wheelers — many of which are not required to register with the state Department of Motor Vehicles — Queens Council Member Bob Holden last year introduced a bill that would require those vehicles and their drivers to register with and get licenses from the city’s Department of Transportation. Holden has said the legislation is “long overdue” and needed to rein in the “growing dangers posed by unregulated e-mobility devices.”
But opponents say the bill would lead to increased targeting of immigrant delivery workers.
In a statement, Ben Furnas, executive director of safe streets group Transportation Alternatives, said the group was “devastated” to learn of Cruz’s death, but opposes proposed e-bike licensing legislation.
“There are some who may seek to capitalize on this man’s death to call for an expansive and poorly-targeted ‘licensing’ scheme,” he said. “This could entangle all bike riders in red tape, and won’t lead to real accountability or better conditions on the street. This delivery worker stayed at the scene. They complied with the police. They were not charged.”
Instead, Furnas urged the City Council to regulate delivery apps he said force drivers to work quickly or get fired — and emphasized the importance of street design to improve conditions for pedestrians, drivers, and cyclists.
“Franklin Street has no bike lane, and nowhere to ride safely when cars are double-parked, as they allegedly were on Saturday. Small street design changes like pinch points or chicanes can slow speeds, increase visibility, prevent double parking, and save lives,” he said. “New Yorkers are clamoring for comprehensive and effective solutions that professionalize delivery work and keep pedestrians and cyclists safe. It’s time for New York leaders to crack down on predatory delivery apps and accelerate building the safe streets infrastructure that help keep everyone safe.”
So far this year, 11 people have died in traffic incidents in Brooklyn, according to NYPD statistics, though the city’s Open Data portal recorded just eight fatalities — and did not include Cruz’s death as of March 24. Those statistics show that at least six pedestrians and three drivers have been killed in Kings County in the first three months of the year, including Cruz. Three people — two pedestrians and one driver — have died in the 94th Precinct, where Cruz was killed, including a pedestrian who was fatally struck by a dump truck on March 1.
