Dirt Bike Rider Dies After Mott Haven Crash With Parks Truck
A 43-year-old motorcyclist died after a July 2, 2022 crash at Willow Avenue and East 138th Street, where police said Gregorio Arango rode north and slammed into the back of a city Parks Department truck.
What We Know
The crash happened about 7:03 p.m. on July 2, 2022, at Willow Avenue and East 138th Street in Mott Haven. The city crash record lists one person killed: a 43-year-old male motorcycle driver. The Daily News, citing police, identified him as Gregorio Arango and reported that he was riding north on Willow Avenue when he slammed into the back of a city Parks Department truck near East 138th Street. Police said Arango was pinned under the dirt bike after a fire broke out; first responders extinguished the blaze and took him to Harlem Hospital, where he died on Aug. 8 from extensive burns and other injuries. The crash record lists traffic-control disregard and unsafe speed for the motorcycle.
The accounts agree on the place, but differ on impact details
The official record places the crash at Willow Avenue and East 138th Street at 7:03 p.m. on July 2, 2022, and records one motorist death. It lists the motorcycle driver going straight north and the dump-truck driver traveling west while making a left turn.
The Daily News, citing police, reported that Gregorio Arango rode north on Willow Avenue and slammed into the back of a city Parks Department truck. The official record, by contrast, lists center-front damage to the motorcycle and left-side door damage to the dump truck.
Gregorio Arango died after more than a month in the hospital
The Daily News identified the rider as Gregorio Arango, 43. Police said first responders extinguished the fire and took Arango to Harlem Hospital, where he died on Aug. 8 from extensive burns and other injuries.
Police and neighbors told the Daily News that Arango lived with his teenage daughter at a nearby family shelter. A shelter resident, Shamika White, remembered him as positive and said neighbors helped set up a small memorial near the crash site.
East 138th Street has a record of severe crashes
The crash happened at Willow Avenue and East 138th Street in the Bronx.
CrashCountNYC location context for East 138th Street in the Bronx shows 684 crashes, 456 injuries, 25 serious injuries and 4 deaths from 2022 through June 1, 2026.