A driver turning left was involved in a fatal East Houston crash.
A driver turning left was involved in a crash that killed e-scooter rider Joseph Bellaflores at East Houston and Lafayette streets in Manhattan at 7:54 a.m. on March 25, 2023; El Diario reported Bellaflores was on his way to work.
Location reported in Open Data.
What We Know
At 7:54 a.m. on March 25, 2023, a driver turning left at East Houston and Lafayette streets was involved in a collision that killed 43-year-old e-scooter rider Joseph Bellaflores. El Diario reported that Bellaflores was headed to work and that the driver stayed at the scene; the official record and the newspaper differ on the driver's approach and vehicle description.
Reports differ on the driver's approach.
El Diario, citing police, reported that Bellaflores was riding west on East Houston Street when a driver traveling in the opposite direction turned left onto Lafayette Street. The newspaper said Bellaflores fell from the scooter and slid beneath the passenger side of the driver's vehicle.
The official record lists the driver as traveling north before turning left, while El Diario described him as approaching from the direction opposite Bellaflores's westbound route.
The sources describe the vehicle differently.
The official record identifies a 2008 Ford van. El Diario describes a Ford E350 and also uses the terms van and truck. The official record links Bellaflores to an e-scooter traveling west; El Diario describes his ride as an electric scooter.
Bellaflores was on his way to work.
El Diario reported that Bellaflores, 43, was a father of two and worked as a doorman at a building on Thompson Street in Greenwich Village. He lived in the East Village and had obtained his scooter in November.
The report gives differing details about emergency care.
El Diario reported that Bellaflores suffered traumatic head injuries and was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where he could not be saved. The same article also said he had no heartbeat when paramedics arrived and that attempts to revive him failed; it did not explain how those details fit together.
El Diario reported that the 47-year-old driver remained at the scene and that police were still investigating.
Where
EAST HOUSTON STREET and LAFAYETTE STREET