BY JEFFERSON SIEGEL | Just after 4:30 Wednesday afternoon a motorcyclist driving up University Place collided with several parked CitiBikes and a man on foot in front of New York University’s Weinstein Hall dormitory, a half-block north of Washington Square Park.
The loud crash drew screams from strollers who moments before had been enjoying the day’s perfect weather.
The pedestrian, a man who looked to be in his 20s, lay motionless in the middle of University Place. The impact was so strong it knocked off one of his sneakers. The motorcycle rider lay in between two parked CitiBikes.
Several people ran over to the injured men. Some yelled at the stunned motorcyclist, his face covered in blood, not to get up. A man and woman ran to help the pedestrian.
“I heard a sound, turned behind me and there were two men on the ground,” said the woman, who declined to give her name. She and the man, an ER nurse visiting from Florida, stayed with the pedestrian until firefighters arrived minutes later.
“Seemed like quite a big impact because the apparent driver was not close to the bike when he was lying on the ground,” the woman said. She ran over while calling 911 after seeing the motorcycle rider lying between the two CitiBikes. “He then started to get agitated, trying to stand up and take his helmet off,” she said. “People were telling him not to.”
She then went over to the pedestrian, whom the visiting ER nurse was already aiding.
“I don’t know if he was processing that he got hit,” she said of the pedestrian. “He was able to say his name and [that] he’s a student at N.Y.U.
“After a while he started to acknowledge pain and then it sounded really bad,” she added.
The ER nurse told her he thought the pedestrian suffered a broken femur since he could see a bad break through the man’s jeans.
Firefighters and EMTs from N.Y.U. Langone Hospital had cut off one leg of the man’s jeans and attached a neck brace before placing him on a backboard and then a stretcher. He was grimacing in pain as medics wheeled him to an ambulance.
Among the stunned onlookers were several N.Y.U. students wearing purple graduation robes. They stood watching as firefighters led the motorcycle rider, his face still bloody, to the back of their firetruck where they began tending to his facial wound. A Fire Department spokesperson said both men were taken to Bellevue Hospital. There was no information on their conditions.
Public records show the license plate of the motorcycle recorded two school zone speed camera violations in 2021 in the Bronx. Each violation resulted in a $50 fine; both were paid.
We’ve all seen squids like him riding in the city. If he was doing the speed limit, this accident wouldn’t have happened the way it did. I am a motorcyclist who rides in Manhattan and in my experience, most squids on these sport bikes have no business riding around pedestrians. If this idiot wanted to show off, he should have gone to the track or stayed on the BQE where he would only kill himself instead of taking out an innocent pedestrian.
And what his two speeding tickets has to do with anything. you know how many people get speeding tickets on a school zone even when there’s no school late night on weekends. The school speed limit is 25, u go 27 u got a speeding ticket, so stop making this man look like he don’t care about people. I bet he feels bad about what happen. people was there and around but do they know what really happen and why this accident happen? they see that he has a bike and right away he was speeding. like I feel bad for what happen to him and the student but these are people’s life ya put out there.
Yes thanks Pat. I agree with you,
A pedestrian who was not paying attention and didn’t have the right of way and crossing illegally. Yes, you can cross illegally. It’s called jaywalking. This is why he got hit. FYI, he was hit by a motorcycle not moped. FYI, don’t believe everything you read. JEFFERSON SIEGEL is only reporting from one point of view (the pedestrian) and you can read that he is biased in his report.
Actually, “Matty,” this collision happened right in front of me, so it’s curious you claim to have an alternate set of facts. The pedestrian was standing between two CitiBikes, along a row of the bikes, when the motorcyclist collided with several of the bikes before colliding into the pedestrian. The pedestrian ended up collapsing on the street. As for reporting from one point of view; the injured pedestrian was unable to comment so it’s not his point of view. If you did read the coverage, you’ll also find an eyewitness account. This reporting is called journalism. But you got your name in print, so congrats.
JEFFERSON SIEGEL, for an eyewitness you sure left out lots of details. Especially the fact that the Motorcyclist was able to survive this severe collision cause he was wearing his helmet and had on a reflective safety vest and proper safety clothing. I’m writing only cause your story needs more details that you lacked to tell. Thank you for proving my point by correcting my statement. Fyi, just cause you witness something does not mean you’re going to report the truth without bias.
JEFFERSON SIEGEL, a good journalist tells the story from both points of view. You can read in your article that everyone had the Motorcyclist wrongfully judge the minute he collided with the bikes, then the pedestrian cause he was trying to avoid hitting the jaywalker. I’m just saying the article could have gave a point of view from the motorcyclist side too. JEFFERSON SIEGEL, you stated, “The pedestrian ended up collapsing on the street.” As for reporting from one point of view, the injured pedestrian was unable to comment, so it’s not his point view. If you did read the coverage, you’ll also find an eyewitness account. A true reporting journalist would have gotten the full story’s facts and truth from all sides and without judgement write an article on it. But what would I know about it cause, like you said, “You got your name in print, so congrats”
Thanks for the congratulations.👍🏽
What they put on here is all false and that’s not a moped, it’s a motorcycle with plate and he has his motorcycle license. He was not in the wrong. People in NYC just think they can walk across the street or jaywalk however. They need to put the update so everybody can know the real story.
Yes Jess R I agree with you 100%
It’s interesting that this moped (gas-powered) has a license plate. I see dozens of gas-powered mopeds, exactly like this one, with no license plate. I seem them on sidewalks, on the road against traffic and going through red lights all the time. I never see any traffic enforcement.
first of all Mark do you even know the difference between a moped and a motorcycle. Because this was an Accident with a motorcycle. Good topic though just wrong article.