Cyclist, pedestrian struck and killed by truck on Upper East Side
NEW YORK - Two men, a bicyclist and a pedestrian, were struck and killed by a truck on the Upper East Side on Friday morning.
According to the NYPD, a Baldor food delivery truck was on East 61 Street at around 9:20 a.m. when a 32-year-old male passenger got in. The truck's driver, a 66-year-old man, suddenly drove forward, causing the truck to mount the sidewalk, striking a fire hydrant, hit the bicyclist on the roadway, and then hit the pedestrian standing on the sidewalk.
Police say the driver then made a right turn onto 3rd Avenue where the vehicle came to a stop.
The victims, identified as 37-year-old cyclist Taurino Rosendo Morales, and 47-year-old Delfino Eduardo Maceda, were rushed to nearby hospitals, where they were pronounced dead.
The truck's 32-year-old passenger was also taken to a nearby hospital for minor injuries.
The truck's driver, a 66-year-old man, remained at the scene. An investigation into the incident is ongoing.
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According to Transportation Alternatives, the truck in the accident has been cited with 270 parking violations over the last two years and this incident is the second time in the last 10 days that a delivery truck has been connected to the death of a cyclist on the Upper East Side.
"We are heartbroken and outraged that traffic violence has claimed the lives of two more New Yorkers this holiday season," Transportation Alternatives Executive Director Danny Harris said in a statement. "On behalf of Transportation Alternatives, we send our condolences to the families of those killed today on the Upper East Side, and to Los Deliveristas Unidos, who have lost another essential member of their community due to traffic violence."
Transportation Alternatives said in their statement that so far this year, at least 260 people have been killed, including at least 14 delivery workers, in traffic crashes since the beginning of the year, the most of any year since Mayor Bill de Blasio took office.
"We look forward to working with Mayor-elect Eric Adams and the next NYC DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez to prioritize the safety of our most vulnerable street users — including essential delivery cyclists — over the convenience of drivers," Harris said. "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."