Cyclist killed in Gowanus crash involving box-truck driver
A box-truck driver and 37-year-old cyclist Sarah Schick were involved in a fatal crash at Ninth Street and Second Avenue in Brooklyn at 7:20 a.m. on January 10, 2023, though early reports differed on the contact sequence.
Location reported in Open Data.
What We Know
A box-truck driver and cyclist Sarah Schick were involved in the January 10, 2023, crash as she rode an electric Citi Bike on a section of Ninth Street without a bike lane. AMNY reported that the driver struck her, while Patch said police had not determined who made contact first. Her family later announced a $100 million notice of claim against the city, alleging officials had failed to address safety concerns.
Early accounts left the sequence unsettled
The official crash record logs a collision at Ninth Street and Second Avenue at 7:20 a.m. on January 10, 2023, with one cyclist killed; it records the box truck and e-bike traveling east and going straight.
AMNY and Streetsblog described the box-truck driver as striking Schick, while Patch reported that police had not determined whether the driver made contact first or Schick did. AMNY reported that Schick was pronounced dead at the scene; Streetsblog reported that police said she died there. AMNY also reported that the driver remained at the scene, no arrests had been made, and police did not suspect criminality at the time.
A gap in bike-lane protection
The crash occurred in Gowanus on Ninth Street near Second Avenue. Streetsblog reported that protected bike lanes ran along the street between Prospect Park and Third Avenue, but there was no bike lane west of Third Avenue, where truck traffic was considerable. It described the crash location as an unprotected, unpainted stretch and reported that a painted lane resumed farther west.
Transportation Alternatives argued that the street layout forced drivers to merge into the bike lane; that was the group's assessment, not a finding about the sequence of this crash.
Family remembered Schick as a devoted mother
Streetsblog identified Schick as a 37-year-old mother of two and a leader at a finance firm that, according to her LinkedIn profile, assessed community needs for major infrastructure projects. Her mother, Evelyne, recalled Schick's closeness to her daughters and her efforts to balance long workdays with baking apple pie with them.
At the time of the February 2023 report, her daughters Lena and Manon were 6 and 9. Evelyne said, "Every day, every second she's in my mind."
The family sought accountability and street changes
In February 2023, Schick's family announced a notice of claim seeking $100 million from the city, the first step toward a wrongful-death suit. Her husband, Maxime Le Munier, alleged the city had responsibility for her death, and the family's lawyer argued that extending protected bike lanes could have prevented the crash. These were allegations, not a finding of city liability.
Streetsblog reported that the Department of Transportation implemented a leading pedestrian interval at the intersection and committed to redesigning the stretch after local activists held a die-in.