On June 29, USPS truck driver Sergei Alekseev ran over and killed a cyclist named Jeffrey Williamson, who had the right of way, on 86th and Central Park West. After turning himself in on November 2, Streetsblog reports that Alekseev is facing a misdemeanor charge of failure to yield, and a traffic summons for failure to exercise due care.
Both Alekseev, 62, and Williamson, who was 71 at the time of the incident, were traveling north on Central Park West at about 5:40pm on June 29, police sources told Streetsblog, which goes on to detail how “Alekseev slammed his 2019 Peterbilt truck into Williamson as he made a right turn onto the 86th Street transverse. Williamson was heading straight and had the right of way.”
Williamson’s widow, Christopher Brimer, told Streetsblog that “I’m happy he was charged with something, but a misdemeanor takes almost no consideration that my husband died.”
Brimer’s attorney told the publication that a civil notice of claim has been filed against the Postal Service, but that it won’t be dealt with until after the criminal case has been finalized.
gross injustice. try vehicular manslaughter.
Any adult bicycling north in the “protected” CPW “bike” lane who saw an USPS truck–or any other delivery truck–to his/her left just to the south of the West 86th Street traverse was being incompetent in not assuming the truck was going to turn right and probably couldn’t see the bicyclist.
So though not legally responsible for his own death, Mr. Williamson made a really bad choice that basically no responsible+experienced bicyclist or driver would have made. Having seen the truck, Mr. Williamson should simply have stopped until the truck turned, or until the truck inappropriately continued north on CPW.
The death of Mr. Williams underlines how ill thought out many NYC “bike” lanes are, even the “protected” ones.
Are you seriously saying that the bicyclist saw the truck coming his way and just purposely continued into the path of the truck, causing his own death?
GP:
I’m seriously saying that had this bicyclist been paying basic attention to rules of driving/riding that every adult driver or bicyclist knows: Mr Williamson (the bicyclist) would still be alive.
There was no necessity to see the truck coming. The USPS truck wasn’t crossing the intersection of CPW and West 86th Street. The truck was making an entirely predictable right turn on to the traverse.
Any reasonably aware bicyclist could have predicted the truck’s right turn, and even more obvious to any reasonably aware bicyclist would be the fact that delivery trucks have big blind spots down their left sides.
Mr. Williamson made a terrible, but legal choice, to not pay attention to a basic fact to his left. The USPS driver made a bad choice, but also legal choice, to not wait to see if some idiot on a bicycle or scooter to the driver’s right continued north along CPW in the “bike” lane to the right of a large USPS delivery truck after the green allowed the truck to turn right.
Could the driver of the truck have possibly seen Mr. Williamson in the truck’s rightside mirror/s? Yes, and that’s likely why the driver is being charged with a misdemeanor.
So 2 parties had to make errors, but the error (or choice) Mr. Williamson made is much harder–even if technically legal–to understand than that of the USPS driver.
I’m much more interested to know if the USPS driver had been northbound on CPW for more than 2 blocks. He really shouldn’t have been simply driving up CPW for more than a block or 3.
I see you utterly missed how ultimately I blamed Mr. Williamson’s death on the City’s gross inconsideration when installing “bike” lanes, even protected ones. Yes, since the City knows of the huge safety problems with “protected” “bike” lanes, perhaps there’s a civil case that Mr. Williamson’s relatives could pursue.
correction:
and even more obvious to any reasonably aware bicyclist would be the fact that delivery trucks have big blind spots down their [right] sides.
It’s good to rethink street design but don’t make stuff overly complicated. I have a car but have lived here for decades so I’ve seen the evolution of the UWS streets as turn lanes, bike lanes of various types, Citibike etc have been added. I understand how to do things like look for bikes in “protected” bike lanes when turning and how things like bike turn signals work in coordination with left and right turn signals and all the other traffic and pedestrian control devices.
But someone from outside the area I think may have trouble understanding all that. If you’re driving north on Amsterdam then at 96th Street for example there are FOUR turn signals in your direction, for cars, bikes and dedicated turning lanes to both sides. Plus crosswalk signals for pedestrians. Plus a protected bike lane to drive through if you make a left. It’s a lot for someone to take in if they’re not familiar with it all. I want street safety but at some point perhaps the pendulum swings the other way with all these lanes and devices.
In my Training Booklet for the Viet Nam Conflict, they call it a “Kill Zone”.
MM:
And the car you drive in NYC probably doesn’t have a giant blind spot (or a blind spot that’s only possible to check with a good bit of extra effort) down its right side.
When pulling out of on street parking that’s crosswalk adjacent, you probably know to look for pedestrians in the crosswalk, even if the crosswalk happens to be in back of you. BUT this is slightly different subject….
Oh. Sorry.
Considering how many bicyclists ride carelessly, such as against traffic and in the middle of an avenue or street, etc., it is amazing to me that many of them aren’t injured or killed very frequently and also that they don’t frequently injure or kill pedestrians. I was hit by a bicyclist riding the wrong way on W. 73 St. Luckily I was not badly injured.
Whatever happened to manslaughter? And instead of blaming the victim, how about the USPS driver who is certainly familiar with the city?
1. Why do you think the truck driver was familiar with 96th St, or anywhere in the city. Big trucks often move mail into and out of cities. This is a huge tragedy for the biker and family, but also for the trucker.
2. Why do you think all vehicle drivers have 360 degree vision and can look in all directions at once? The driver was in the correct turning lane and was likely signalling — but if not, had to turn there anyway. OK, I know the fool who wrote the article thinks so, too. Bikers can do no wrong.
3. True, at age 75 I find the city too dangerous to bike in. But I would never, ever, try to go straight past a truck on the bike lane, even if technically I had the right of way. Truck Big. Truck has blind spots. Bike small. If the biker was right at the front door of the truck, the driver could not possible see him unless he was VERY, VERY tall.
Had the cyclist killed a pedestrian NOTHING would happen. Bicycles, e-bikes, e-scotters.e-skateboards – they are making walking in my neighborhood (10023) hellish. They behave like entitled, selfish, inconsiderate, and reckless jerks with complete impunity.
Behave like that because they ARE like that. And many have never had a vehicle license, so are clueless about what a vehicle driver can and cannot do.
All that said, I rarely see a car run a red or deliberately sideswipe a pedestrian in a crosswalk. But speeding is a huge issue. When I’m walking in NYC, I certainly fear bikers more than drivers.
To be honest bike riders are getting way out of hand and have to learn some etiquette for paying attention to bike laws. I personally can’t tolerate most bike riders as they think they own the streets and sidewalks. They are getting way out of hand as I repeat myself.
T totally agree. I am more fearful of getting hit by a bicyclist than a vehicle.
When I was growing up living in Manhattan the only place you could ride your bike was in Central Park and you had to walk your bike on the sidewalk to get there. Now bike riders ride all over the streets going the wrong way in bike lanes, try to beat cars making a turn. Ride the sidewalks, have very little respect for pedestrians crossing the streets. I never see a bike rider get a ticket for disobeying all the rules for bike riders.
Are you kidding the NYPD tickets cyclists way more than they do people in cars! Just look at how many cars run red lights or how many are driving with suspended licenses. And let’s not even talk about the drivers who are blatantly covering their license plates because of all the violations they have (and will continue to get).
Lastly, this is not the article to vent about your gripes. Someone died and the person responsible is barely getting a slap on the wrist. Go cry a river.
Why do we keep rewarding the people who endanger us? Delivery bikers – some of the worst menaces on the road, who ride silent and deadly electric bikes without regard to ANY traffic laws – get higher wages, and more and more protections, while the danger they create for pedestrians grows.
And now even killing someone with a vehicle is only a misdemeanor? This was vehicular manslaughter pure and simply, even if unintentional.
When do pedestrians get some relief? There are fewer and fewer laws to protect them – and the laws that DO exist are not enforced, either by the NYPD or, now, the D.A.s and courts.
This City is fast becoming a literal “dodge” city as pedestrians dodge bikes, scooters and vehicles, and bikes dodge cars and trucks, who have now been given a license to kill, knowing that they will only be charged with a misdemeanor.
All of this would be funny if it weren’t so tragic.
It’s rewarding people who are bringing you your dinner. Seriously, you’re slamming the delivery guys in a story about a biker killed by a truck? Talk about punching down. Isn’t there a cloud you can go yell at? If you had a lawn I’d get off it.
First of all, I never order out, so these men are not serving me in any way. Second, irrespective of the instant issue, they are a menace, and almost everyone except you knows that. Third, I am simply pointing out a connection between the leniency given to a drive who KILLED someone, and the overall “rewarding” of people who are endangering us (delivery riders, cars, etc.). You may need to have a remedial in reading comprehension.
A cyclist riding the correct way in the cycle lane has right of way and gets killed by a truck. Clearly the cyclist is a victim and yet all these people people are taking the opportunity to vent their hatred on cyclists who don’t obey the rules. This guy isn’t one of them! Also, the driver took five months to own up to killing the guy, so I assume it was a hit and run. He didn’t stick around to help the guy, call for an ambulance, face his crime, he just took off to cover his own ass. And for this he gets charged with a misdemeanour. Outrageous.
I think you are missing it. We all agree that this particularly cyclist was completely in the right, and that it is beyond outrageous that the driver only got charged with a misdemeanor. But that is not mutually exclusive of the fact that, like this driver – who was “rewarded” for killing someone by not being charged with vehicular manslaughter – many cyclists, and particularly delivery bikers, who are just as much of a menace to people as this driver was, are also “rewarded” over and over, while their bad behavior doesn’t change.