Dirt-bike operator fled after passenger died on boardwalk
A motorcycle operator fled after an Aug. 29, 2022 crash on the Rockaway Beach Boardwalk that the official record ties to driver inattention and that the Daily News reported killed passenger David Molina.
What We Know
On Aug. 29, 2022, a motorcycle operator was traveling west on the Rockaway Beach Boardwalk with a passenger when he lost control near Beach 47 Street, according to police accounts reported by the Daily News. The official record lists the crash at the Boardwalk and Beach 47 Street at 3:04 p.m., with driver inattention or distraction as a contributing factor. The Daily News identified the passenger as David Molina and reported that he was thrown, hit his head and died on the boardwalk. A 55-year-old man rollerblading was injured and taken to Jamaica Hospital. Police said the 25-year-old operator left on foot and had not been caught as of the follow-up report.
Police said the operator lost control on the boardwalk
The official record places the crash at 3:04 p.m. on Aug. 29, 2022, at the Boardwalk and Beach 47 Street, and lists one person killed and one injured. It records a motorcycle traveling west with two occupants and lists driver inattention or distraction as a contributing factor.
The Daily News reported that a 25-year-old man operating a Qipai Hunier dirt bike was traveling west with David Molina on the back when the operator lost control near Beach 47 Street. Police told the paper the collision involved a bench and a 55-year-old man rollerblading. Molina was thrown, hit his head and died on the boardwalk, while the rollerblader was taken to Jamaica Hospital with a minor head wound.
David Molina was identified by relatives after the crash
The official record describes the person killed as a 26-year-old male passenger. The Daily News identified him as David Molina and reported that he lived in Cedarhurst, Long Island, about four miles from where he died.
Molina's mother, Lily Molina, told the Daily News that he had said he was going to Brooklyn for a job interview and that she was planning his funeral the next day. His aunt, Mirna Figueroa Rivas, also spoke to the paper about the family's anger and grief.
The crash happened where motorized travel is barred
The official record lists the location as the Boardwalk at Beach 47 Street. The first Daily News report described the crash as near Beach 49th Street, while the follow-up account placed it near Beach 47th Street, matching the official record.
Both Daily News accounts reported that motorized transportation of any kind is prohibited on the boardwalk.
The operator left on foot, police said
Police told the Daily News that the operator abandoned the dirt bike on the boardwalk and ran off after the crash, leaving Molina and the bike behind. The paper reported that police were searching for him that day and that he had not been caught as of the next day's follow-up.