Driver fatally hit e-scooter rider in Bensonhurst
City records place a fatal sedan-and-e-scooter crash at 18th Avenue and 74th Street on Aug. 20, 2022, and police told reporters a 23-year-old Kia driver hit Qiu Rifeng as he tried to cross 18th Avenue.
What We Know
Qiu Rifeng was riding a Hover-1 Journey e-scooter near 18th Avenue and 74th Street in Bensonhurst on Aug. 20, 2022, when police said a 23-year-old driver in a 2022 Kia K5, traveling south on 18th Avenue, hit him as he tried to cross. Reporters cited police saying Rifeng was thrown to the pavement, suffered severe head trauma and died at Maimonides Medical Center. The city crash record lists a fatal crash involving a sedan and an e-scooter at 12:30 p.m.; news reports put the time at about 12:50 p.m. The official record lists the killed rider as 21, while both news reports identify Qiu Rifeng as 22. Police said the driver remained at the scene, and reporters said there were no immediate charges or arrests.
Police described a southbound driver hitting a rider crossing 18th Avenue
The official crash record lists the crash at 12:30 p.m.; the Daily News and amNY reported the time as about 12:50 p.m. The city record lists a sedan and an e-scooter, both traveling straight ahead, and records one person killed.
The rider was identified as Qiu Rifeng
The Daily News and amNY identified the rider as Qiu Rifeng and reported that he lived a little more than a block from the crash site. Both news reports gave his age as 22, while the official crash record lists the killed rider as 21.
Reporters cited police saying Rifeng was not wearing a helmet, suffered severe head trauma and was taken by medics to Maimonides Medical Center, where he died.
The crash happened on a corridor with repeated harm
The crash was recorded at 18th Avenue and 74th Street in Brooklyn. CrashCountNYC location data for 18th Avenue in Brooklyn shows 608 crashes, 402 injuries, 23 serious injuries and 7 deaths from 2022 through June 1, 2026.
Records and reports point to visibility and crossing conditions
The city crash record lists view obstruction or limited view as a contributing factor for both the sedan driver and the e-scooter rider. It also lists pedestrian, bicyclist or other pedestrian error or confusion for the e-scooter rider.
amNY reported that the intersection had no marked crosswalk across 18th Avenue in the direction Rifeng was traveling, and that he would have had to go one block north or south to cross the two-way avenue at a marked crossing.
The driver stayed at the scene
Police told reporters the 23-year-old Kia driver remained at the scene. The Daily News reported that he faced no immediate charges, and amNY reported that police had not made any arrests.