School bus driver involved in fatal Long Island City collision
A 54-year-old school bus driver collided with a southbound rider at Queens Boulevard and Jackson Avenue in Long Island City around 5:20 p.m. on April 20, 2023; the official record reports one death.
Location reported in Open Data.
What We Know
A 54-year-old school bus driver was traveling east on Queens Boulevard as a rider traveled south on Jackson Avenue, according to QNS's account of the police investigation. QNS reported that EMS took the rider to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The official record classifies the rider's vehicle as an e-bike; QNS called it a motorized scooter, while Streetsblog corrected its account to describe a moped or motorcycle.
The rider was taken to a hospital after the collision.
QNS reported that a 54-year-old man was driving a 2017 Ford Transit 350 yellow school bus east on Queens Boulevard at about 5:21 p.m. as a 43-year-old rider traveled south on Jackson Avenue. The driver collided with the rider, who was thrown to the roadway.
QNS reported that EMS transported the rider to New York-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. Streetsblog quoted nearby resident Oliver Zhou describing the rider as alive on the roadway after impact. Police withheld the rider's identity pending family notification. QNS reported that the bus driver was uninjured and remained at the scene; no arrests had been made and the investigation was ongoing.
Reports describe the rider's vehicle differently.
The official crash record classifies the rider's vehicle as an e-bike. QNS described it as a motorized scooter. Streetsblog corrected its initial scooter description, saying photographs and witnesses indicated a moped or motorcycle.
The intersection sits beneath elevated train tracks.
Streetsblog described Queens Boulevard and Jackson Avenue as a convergence of multilane roadways beneath elevated train tracks, where the layout contributes to reduced visibility. It cited city data compiled by CrashMapper showing 103 crashes and 47 injuries at the corner since 2020.
A council member called for a redesign.
Council Member Julie Won called the death preventable with better street design and traffic calming, and urged the Department of Transportation to redesign the intersection, Streetsblog reported.