Citi Bike Rider Killed at East 85th Street and Madison Avenue
A 28-year-old Citi Bike rider, identified by the New York Post as Carling Mott, was killed at East 85th Street and Madison Avenue after police said she fell beside a tractor-trailer when the light changed.
What We Know
Carling Mott, 28, was riding west on East 85th Street near Madison Avenue on July 26, 2022, when she fell from a Citi Bike after the light changed, according to police accounts reported by the New York Post. The official crash record says one bicyclist was killed and no other injuries were recorded. The Post reported that the tractor-trailer driver stayed at the scene and was not facing criminal charges as of the following evening. Vehicle descriptions differ: the city record lists a 2020 FRHT truck/bus, while the Post described a 2017 Great Dane tractor-trailer.
What happened on East 85th Street
The crash happened around 10:50 a.m. on July 26, 2022, as Carling Mott rode west on East 85th Street toward Madison Avenue. The New York Post, citing police, reported that she and a tractor-trailer driver were stopped at a red light and that Mott fell from her Citi Bike after the light changed. She was then fatally struck.
The official record lists one person killed, a 28-year-old female bicyclist, and no other injuries.
A Madison Avenue corner with a record of harm
The crash was recorded at East 85th Street and Madison Avenue in Manhattan. CrashCountNYC location data for Madison Avenue in Manhattan shows 1,457 crashes, 782 injuries, 61 serious injuries and 2 deaths from the start of 2022 through June 1, 2026.
Carling Mott and the driver
The New York Post identified the bicyclist as Carling Mott and reported that she lived in Yorkville, less than a mile from the crash scene. The article said she was taken to Weill Cornell Medical Center, where she could not be saved.
The Post reported that the tractor-trailer driver stayed at the scene and was not facing criminal charges as of Wednesday evening.
Vehicle records do not describe the truck the same way
The official crash record lists a tractor truck and a bike, both traveling west and both going straight ahead before the crash. The city vehicle entry describes the truck as a 2020 FRHT truck/bus, while the New York Post reported that police described it as a 2017 Great Dane tractor-trailer.
What officials and police accounts said about cause
The official record lists pedestrian or bicyclist error or confusion as a contributing factor. The Post reported that police said Mott fell from the Citi Bike after the light changed, but the article did not report a public explanation for why she fell.
Bike-lane fight returned after the fatal crash
The Post reported that transportation officials had proposed painted bike lanes on East 85th Street and several other Upper East Side streets in 2016, but the plan met opposition from residents and elected officials and was not installed. The article said the proposed East 85th Street lane would have run between Central Park and East End Avenue and would not have removed parking spaces.