PEDESTRIAN, CYCLIST HIT, KILLED ON E. SIDE
Box truck driver is arrested in tragedy on Christmas Eve
An already deadly year for traffic fatalities got worse Friday when a pedestrian and a bicyclist delivering takeout food were killed by a box truck on the Upper East Side, police said.
The Christmas Eve collision at Third Ave. and 61st St. happened shortly before 9:30 a.m. when the driver of a Baldor specialty foods truck heading west struck the victims before jumping a curb and hitting a fire hydrant, cops said.
The driver told police his gas pedal got stuck as he turned to head north on Third Ave. Both victims were in the crosswalk.
The driver and his partner had just made a delivery nearby and had gotten back into the truck. But according to police, the partner hadn’t gotten all the way in when the driver took off. Cops said the partner fell from the truck and hurt his ankle.
The driver was arrested, but has not been charged yet, police said. Sources said he passed a breath alcohol test but refused to have the inside of his mouth swabbed for further testing.
A witness who works at Nuts Factory across from the scene said a good Samaritan tried in vain to save the pedestrian.
“The lady, she was doing CPR,” said the witness, who identified himself only as Mike. “But he didn’t answer. So one [police] car came here, and he helped the lady giving CPR to the guy. And the delivery guy, he didn’t move.”
The victims were rushed to New York-Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell, where they died. The bicycle was adorned with a Mexican flag.
A Baldor representative declined to comment.
This was the second time in the past 10 days that a delivery truck has been connected to the death of a working cyclist on the Upper East Side.
A DoorDash deliveryman at the scene, Aaron Primitivo, 27, said he’s rethinking his line of work.
“I’ve barely been doing this a month, but seeing this takes away the desire to do it,” he said. “You never know when the same thing can happen to you.”
The accident added to what has been the worst year for traffic deaths in the city since Mayor de Blasio took office in 2014 and launched his “Vision Zero” program with the goal of ending deadly crashes.
At least 265 people, including 14 delivery workers, have been killed on city streets so far this year, the most since 2013, during former Mayor Mike Bloomberg’s administration.
The truck involved has been cited with 270 parking violations over the past two years, according to city records.
“We are heartbroken and outraged that traffic violence has claimed the lives of two more New Yorkers this holiday season,” said a statement from the group Transportation Alternatives.
“We have the tools to end deadly traffic violence. We cannot let another eight years go by without taking all the steps needed to reach Vision Zero.”