Delivery worker dies in crash involving turning driver on Morgan Avenue
Dani
A 50-year-old driver making a left turn was involved in the fatal crash that killed delivery worker Daniel Vidal, 30, on Morgan Avenue in East Williamsburg at 9:32 a.m. on August 4, 2022, according to police accounts reported by local outlets and the official record.
Location reported in Open Data.
What We Know
The official record places the crash on Morgan Avenue at 9:32 a.m. on August 4, 2022, and records one person killed. Reports differ on the sequence: AMNY said Vidal was riding north on Morgan Avenue when a driver turned left from Meadow Street and collided with him; the Daily News placed him on Meadow Street approaching Morgan and said he fell into the turning driver's path, while NY1 placed him in Morgan Avenue's bicycle lane and reported that he fell before the driver turned. Local reports said paramedics took Vidal to Elmhurst Hospital, where he died; NY1 reported that the driver was not facing charges at that time while the investigation continued.
Reports differ on Vidal's approach and the moments before the crash
AMNY reported, citing police, that Vidal was riding north on Morgan Avenue when a 50-year-old man driving a flatbed truck turned left from Meadow Street and collided with him.
The Daily News instead reported, citing police, that Vidal was riding on Meadow Street toward Morgan, locked his motorcycle's rear brake and fell into the path of a driver turning left. NY1 placed him in the bicycle lane on Morgan Avenue and reported that his rear brake locked, the motorcycle glided into a curb, and he fell before a driver turned left onto Morgan Avenue. The Daily News and NY1 reported that the driver ran over him after he fell.
Local reports said paramedics took Vidal to Elmhurst Hospital, where he died.
The crash happened on an industrial corridor with unprotected bike lanes
The crash occurred on Morgan Avenue near Meadow Street in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn, according to local reports; the official record lists Morgan Avenue. AMNY described the corridor as running through an industrial neighborhood, with a history of fatal truck crashes and bike lanes that are unprotected from vehicle traffic.
Vidal was remembered by family and fellow delivery workers
AMNY reported that Vidal lived on Jefferson Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant and was known locally as Dani, according to Gustavo Ajche, a founder of Los Deliveristas Unidos. Friends and fellow delivery workers mourned him near the scene.
His wife, Rosa Maria Vidal, told NY1 that he was friendly and helped other delivery workers in trouble. She said delivery work was meant to be temporary and that he hoped to open a motorcycle shop and a video camera shop within two years. NY1 also reported that his mother started a fundraiser for funeral expenses.
The Daily News reported that Vidal's brother was riding a separate motorcycle and, according to witness Michelle Acevedo, pleaded for help after the crash.
The official record and news accounts describe the vehicles differently
The official record lists a 2021 EX-PRO motorbike for the fatality identified as its driver. AMNY described Vidal's two-wheeler as both a motorcycle and a scooter; the Daily News called it a 2021 Jiangsu Xpro motorcycle.
The official record lists the other vehicle as a 2022 vehicle with make listed as INTL-TRUCK/BUS, classifies it as a Carry All and gives its normalized category as sedan. AMNY and the Daily News described a flatbed truck; the Daily News called it a 2022 International truck and reported that it was registered to a Brooklyn granite trading company.
The driver stayed at the scene as police investigated
AMNY reported that the 50-year-old driver stayed at the scene and that police did not suspect criminality. NY1 reported that the driver was not facing charges at the time of its report and that the investigation was ongoing.