Truck driver involved in fatal Gowanus crash; family alleges city fault
A truck driver was involved in the fatal crash that killed 37-year-old Sarah Schick at Ninth Street and Second Avenue in Brooklyn at 7:20 a.m. on Jan. 10, 2023; her family later alleged the city failed to protect cyclists there.
Location reported in Open Data.
What We Know
At 7:20 a.m. on Jan. 10, 2023, a cyclist was killed at Ninth Street and Second Avenue in Gowanus; later reporting identified her as 37-year-old Sarah Schick. AMNY reported that a box truck driver struck her, while Patch said police had not established who made contact first. Streetsblog later reported that the driver struck Schick as she rode east. Her family announced a $100 million notice of claim alleging the city failed to make the street safe, and Streetsblog reported that the city committed to redesigning the stretch after a protest.
Reports differ on how the crash began.
The official crash record places the collision at Ninth Street and Second Avenue in Brooklyn at 7:20 a.m. on Jan. 10, 2023, and records one cyclist killed and no injuries.
AMNY reported that a box truck driver struck a 37-year-old woman. Patch reported that police had not determined whether the driver hit the woman first or she hit the driver first. Streetsblog later identified the cyclist as Sarah Schick and reported that the driver struck her as she rode east.
The official collision summary labels the cyclist's vehicle a bike, while its detailed vehicle record calls it an e-bike. AMNY and Patch described it as a Citi Bike. The official record and AMNY identify the other vehicle as a box truck.
The crash happened on an unprotected stretch of Ninth Street.
The crash site was at Ninth Street and Second Avenue in Gowanus, Brooklyn, on an industrial section of the street. Streetsblog reported that cyclists there shared the lane with cars and trucks.
Streetsblog reported that the city added protected bike lanes to much of Ninth Street in 2019 but left the stretch west of Third Avenue without protection, despite advocates' calls to extend the improvements.
Schick's family remembered her as a devoted mother.
Streetsblog identified the cyclist as Sarah Schick, 37, and reported that she was a mother to two daughters, Lena, 6, and Manon, 9. Her mother, Evelyne Schick, recalled that Sarah was close to her daughters and could take a work call while making apple pie with them.
Streetsblog reported that Schick was a leader at a finance firm. Her LinkedIn profile described the firm as assessing community needs for major infrastructure projects.
Her family called for accountability and a safer street.
AMNY reported that the truck driver remained at the scene. The outlet said police had made no arrests and did not suspect criminality at the time of its report.
Streetsblog reported that Schick's husband, Maxime Le Munier, announced a notice of claim seeking $100 million from the city, alleging negligence. The notice was the first step toward a wrongful death suit, not a court finding.
Streetsblog also reported that the city updated the intersection's signal timing in January to give pedestrians and cyclists time to enter before drivers received a green light. After a late-January protest, the Department of Transportation committed to redesigning the stretch.