Driver Charged After Teen Citi Bike Rider Dies in Astoria
At 9:35 p.m. on April 10, 2023, a fatal collision occurred at 21st Street and 21st Avenue in Queens; prosecutors later said Yaser Ibrahim was driving 45 to 50 mph and left the scene.
Location reported in Open Data.
What We Know
Jaydan McLaurin was riding an electric Citi Bike near 21st Street and 21st Avenue in Astoria on April 10, 2023, when a driver in a BMW SUV hit him. The city crash record lists one bicyclist killed and no other injuries at 9:35 p.m. Police later identified the driver as 18-year-old Yaser Ibrahim. Prosecutors said Ibrahim was driving 45 to 50 mph in a 25 mph zone, stopped, got nervous and left; a June indictment alleged he drove through a red light. McLaurin was taken to Harlem Hospital, where he died. Neighbors and coaches remembered him as a basketball player who cared about his community.
A late-night collision at 21st Street and 21st Avenue
The city crash record places the collision at 9:35 p.m. on April 10, 2023, at 21st Street and 21st Avenue in Queens. It records one bicyclist killed, no other injuries, and two involved vehicles: a station wagon/SUV and an e-bike.
Police accounts cited by QNS said Jaydan McLaurin was riding northbound on 21st Street as a driver in a 2022 BMW X7 traveled southbound. Police later identified the driver as Yaser Ibrahim and said he left the scene; officers later found the BMW unoccupied at 23rd Street and 22nd Drive.
Prosecutors focused on speed, a red light and leaving the scene
The Queens district attorney's office said Ibrahim admitted he was driving about 45 to 50 mph when he hit McLaurin; the posted speed limit on 21st Street was 25 mph. Prosecutors said Ibrahim stopped, saw debris from the Citi Bike, got nervous and left.
In June, the Daily News reported that Ibrahim was arraigned on an 11-count indictment that included criminally negligent homicide, second-degree manslaughter, second-degree assault and leaving the scene. The report said prosecutors alleged he drove through a red light at 21st Street and 21st Avenue.
Jaydan McLaurin was remembered as a young basketball player
News reports identified the bicyclist as 16-year-old Jaydan McLaurin, a Queens resident who lived at the Ravenswood Houses. ABC7 reported that when he was not at school, he played basketball at the Variety Boys and Girls Club.
Coach Charles Melone told ABC7 that McLaurin was "Full of life" and "just loved to play basketball." A neighbor told CBS New York, "He'd help anybody. He helped the elderly. He gives back to the community."
The crash happened in Astoria near 21st Avenue
The official record places the fatal crash in Queens, zip code 11105, at 21st Street and 21st Avenue. News reports described the location as Astoria and said McLaurin was riding a Citi Bike e-bike there that night.
Gothamist reported that McLaurin was the third Citi Bike rider to die in a traffic crash in 2023 and the second that year while riding an e-bike rented from the system.
A vigil and court case followed
ABC7 reported that Ibrahim was arraigned the next night, placed on supervised release and given a June court date. QNS reported that he faced up to seven years in prison if convicted on the initial leaving-the-scene charge.
Neighbors gathered at the Ravenswood Houses after McLaurin's death. CBS New York reported that candles were placed at the court in the complex and in front of the building, and that a candlelight vigil was planned there.