Tow Truck Driver and Cyclist in Fatal Bruckner Boulevard Crash
Police said a tow-truck driver was passing cyclist Carlos Martinez when a fatal crash occurred at Bruckner Boulevard and East 136th Street at 12:56 p.m. on May 26, 2022; Streetsblog reported that video showed the driver squeezing Martinez.
Approximate reported location.
What We Know
Police said a tow-truck driver was passing Carlos Martinez when a fatal crash occurred at Bruckner Boulevard and East 136th Street on May 26, 2022. Streetsblog reported that video showed Martinez did not fall but was squeezed by the passing driver, differing from police's account that Martinez fell beneath the front driver's-side tire of a truck being towed. The official record lists a tow truck or wrecker and a bicycle traveling north and going straight, and records driver inattention or distraction as a contributing factor for the tow-truck driver. Streetsblog also reported that Con Ed construction barriers narrowed the roadway and that Martinez, an East Harlem resident, was taken to Lincoln Hospital, where he died. The article gave Martinez's age as 53; the official record lists the fatal cyclist as 52.
Martinez's reported age differs from the official record.
Streetsblog identified the cyclist as Carlos Martinez, an East Harlem resident, and reported that he was taken to Lincoln Hospital, where he died. The article gave his age as 53; the official record lists the fatal cyclist as 52.
Reports differ on how the collision unfolded.
Police told Streetsblog that Martinez fell while a tow-truck driver passed alongside him, and that Martinez went beneath the front driver's-side tire of a truck being towed. Streetsblog reported that video showed Martinez did not fall but was squeezed by the passing driver, who was moving fast enough to overtake him. The accounts differ on whether Martinez fell or was squeezed by the driver.
The official record lists a tow truck or wrecker and a bicycle traveling north and going straight. It records driver inattention or distraction as a contributing factor for the tow-truck driver.
Construction barriers narrowed the roadway.
The official record places the crash at Bruckner Boulevard and East 136th Street. Streetsblog reported that a Con Ed crew had left barricades along the far-right portion of the roadway, narrowing the available space. A witness told the publication that the crash occurred in the northbound lanes.