Driver charged after fatal Morgan Avenue bike-lane crash
A driver making a right turn at Morgan and Johnson Avenues hit 56-year-old bicyclist Eugene Schroeder late March 9, 2023; police later arrested Akilo Cadogan and prosecutors charged him with leaving an accident resulting in death.
What We Know
On March 9, 2023, a driver in a 2012 Volvo truck was making a right turn at Morgan and Johnson Avenues as 56-year-old bicyclist Eugene Schroeder rode south. Police told reporters Schroeder was in a marked bike lane and had stopped near the passenger side before the driver turned onto Johnson Avenue, hit him, and left westbound. EMS took Schroeder to Elmhurst Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Nearly a year later, police arrested Akilo Cadogan; court records cited by Gothamist said he was charged with leaving an accident resulting in death and pleaded not guilty.
A right turn beside a marked bike lane
The city crash record places the collision at Morgan Avenue and Johnson Avenue at 11:30 p.m. on March 9, 2023. It records one bicyclist killed and lists a southbound driver in a 2012 Volvo diesel truck making a right turn while the bicyclist was traveling south and going straight.
Police told amNY that Eugene Schroeder was riding in a marked bicycle lane and stopped near the passenger side of the driver's vehicle before the driver turned right onto Johnson Avenue, hit him, and continued westbound without stopping.
The corner sits on the Bushwick and East Williamsburg edge
The official record identifies the location as Morgan Avenue at Johnson Avenue in Brooklyn. News accounts described the neighborhood differently: amNY placed the corner in East Williamsburg, while Gothamist called it Bushwick.
amNY reported that the same intersection had two crashes in 2022 that injured four motorists, citing NYC Crash Mapper.
Eugene Schroeder was taken to Elmhurst Hospital
Officers responding from the 90th Precinct found Schroeder near a fallen bicycle in the crosswalk with severe head trauma, according to amNY. EMS took him to Elmhurst Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Gothamist identified Schroeder as a 56-year-old Brooklyn resident and reported that he worked late nights as a DJ at Hell's Kitchen clubs. His husband, John Rappaport, told Gothamist he wanted justice and described Schroeder as the person who cared for him.
Police made an arrest nearly a year later
Gothamist reported that Cadogan pleaded not guilty. The outlet also reported that the Department of Transportation said he was a former seasonal employee and was not working for the agency at the time of the crash.