Scooter rider killed in Brooklyn garbage truck crash
A 55-year-old scooter rider was killed at Rockaway and Ditmas avenues after police said he tried to pass a sanitation garbage truck on the passenger side as its driver turned right.
What We Know
A 55-year-old man riding a scooter died after a crash at Ditmas and Rockaway avenues in Brooklyn on Jan. 25, 2022. Police told amNY that the rider was heading east on Ditmas Avenue and tried to get around an NYC Sanitation garbage truck on the passenger side as the truck driver turned right onto southbound Rockaway Avenue. The official record lists one motorist killed, a garbage or refuse truck and a motorscooter, and cites driver inexperience as a contributing factor. Police said the garbage truck driver remained at the scene and the investigation was ongoing.
Police described a right-turn collision
Police said officers responded at about 7:51 p.m. to a 911 call about a crash at Ditmas Avenue and Rockaway Avenue. A preliminary investigation found that the scooter rider was heading east on Ditmas Avenue and tried to get around an NYC Sanitation garbage truck on the passenger side as the truck driver turned right onto southbound Rockaway Avenue.
The crash happened on Ditmas Avenue in Brooklyn
The official crash record places the collision at Rockaway Avenue and Ditmas Avenue in Brooklyn. CrashCountNYC’s street context for Ditmas Avenue in Brooklyn recorded 603 crashes, 409 injuries, 16 serious injuries and 5 deaths from Jan. 1, 2022, through June 1, 2026.
A 55-year-old scooter rider died
Police said responding officers found a 55-year-old man who had been riding an electric scooter. He was taken to Brookdale Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. His identity was withheld pending family notification in the published police account.
The official record lists the person killed as a 55-year-old male driver. Police said the garbage truck driver was not injured and remained at the scene.
Records differ in how they describe the scooter
Police described the rider as operating an electric scooter. The official crash record classifies the scooter as a motorscooter and lists the other vehicle as a garbage or refuse truck. The official vehicle record identifies the truck as a 2018 Mack truck or bus and the scooter as a 2021 Jiajue.
The official record cited driver inexperience
The official crash record lists driver inexperience as a contributing factor. In the vehicle-level record, driver inexperience and turning improperly are listed for the scooter operator. Police told amNY that the investigation was ongoing.