It’s always a tragedy when a bicyclist is killed in a motor vehicle crash. It adds another layer when the fatality occurs in front of a group of school children.
Last Wednesday at about 8:40 a.m., a pediatrician from the Upper East Side was biking along the 96th Street Transverse in Central Park when he hit a patch of ice. This caused him to skid and fall into the path of a school bus. That bus was carrying 14 children on a field trip to the Museum of Natural History.
The pediatrician, 50, was rushed to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. He had worked there as both a pediatrician and teaching doctor.
The man also worked at Uptown Pediatrics on Park Avenue. Both Uptown Pediatrics and Mount Sinai expressed their profound grief at his loss.
“Our prayers and heart-felt sympathy go out to his family, friends, and students and colleagues at Mount Sinai,” said a statement for the hospital. “This is a great loss for the Mount Sinai community.”
“At this time our hearts are extremely heavy,” said Uptown Pediatrics in a Facebook Post. “Thank you in advance for thoughts and prayers.”
2019 was a tough year for New York City cyclists
In 2018, there were 10 bikers killed on New York City streets. Last year, there were 28, including this pediatrician.
This situation is especially difficult because there are no obvious answers. The bus driver is not suspected of any criminality, and he stopped and waited for police to arrive, as is required by law.
But was he negligent when he struck the bicyclist? It’s impossible to know based on news coverage. An experienced attorney will need to interview witnesses and attempt to reconstruct the crash to determine what happened.
Our thoughts go out to those affected by this tragedy.