Dump Truck Driver Fatally Hits E-Bike Rider in Hunts Point
On Aug. 9, 2023, at Tiffany and Barry streets in the Bronx, a dump truck driver making a right turn hit e-bike rider Mariano Leonardo Victoriano and fled; the official crash record lists one cyclist killed.
What We Know
Mariano Leonardo Victoriano was riding an e-bike near Tiffany and Barry streets in Hunts Point on Aug. 9, 2023, when a dump truck driver traveling south on Tiffany Street made a right turn onto Barry Street, hit him and fled, according to AMNY. EMS took Victoriano to Lincoln Hospital, where he died. The official crash record lists the crash at 5:47 a.m. and records one cyclist killed; AMNY and Gothamist reported about 5:30 a.m., while the Daily News reported about 6:30 a.m. AMNY identified Victoriano as 30, while the official record lists the killed bicyclist as a 29-year-old man. AMNY reported that police identified and located the driver from witness descriptions, but no arrest or charges had been announced at publication.
A right turn, then a fatal hit-and-run
The official record places the crash at Tiffany Street and Barry Street in the Bronx at 5:47 a.m. on Aug. 9, 2023, with one cyclist killed and no other injuries recorded. AMNY reported that a dump truck driver and Victoriano were both traveling south on Tiffany Street before the driver turned right onto Barry Street and hit him.
AMNY reported that EMS took Victoriano to Lincoln Hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead, and that the driver continued west on Barry Street. Gothamist and the Daily News also reported that the driver fled and that police were investigating the case as a hit-and-run.
The public accounts do not match in every detail
AMNY described the driver as operating a Kenworth dump truck; the official vehicle record lists a 2022 KW truck/bus dump vehicle making a right turn. Gothamist described the driver as being in a dark-colored SUV, and the Daily News described a large SUV or small truck.
The official record lists the crash time as 5:47 a.m.; Gothamist and AMNY reported around 5:30 a.m., while the Daily News reported about 6:30 a.m. AMNY identified Victoriano as 30, while the official record lists the killed bicyclist as a 29-year-old man.
The rider and the driver
AMNY identified the rider as Mariano Leonardo Victoriano, a Longwood resident, and reported he was 30. The official record lists the killed bicyclist as a 29-year-old man riding an e-bike.
A police spokesperson told AMNY that police identified and located the dump truck and driver from witness descriptions, but the operator had not been arrested or charged as of AMNY's report. Gothamist and the Daily News reported no arrests on Aug. 9.
Recorded movements before impact
City records list the truck driver traveling south and making a right turn, with right-front bumper impact and damage recorded for the truck. The e-bike rider was also listed as traveling south and going straight, with left-front quarter-panel impact and damage recorded for the Arrow 10 e-bike.
AMNY reported a similar movement pattern, saying the driver was traveling south on Tiffany Street and turning right onto Barry Street while Victoriano was riding southbound.
What investigators and reporters recorded
The official vehicle record lists pedestrian or bicyclist error/confusion as a contributing factor for the e-bike rider. The reviewed articles did not report a public finding that assigned legal fault; they reported an active NYPD investigation after the driver fled.
Tiffany Street sits in a truck-heavy Hunts Point corridor
CrashCountNYC's location context for Tiffany Street records 306 crashes, 210 injuries, 14 serious injuries and one death since 2022.
The street-design details in the press accounts also differ: AMNY reported Victoriano was riding in the Tiffany Street bike lane, while the Daily News quoted Transportation Alternatives saying neither Tiffany nor Barry streets had dedicated bike lanes.
Advocates connected the death to a deadly year for riders
Gothamist and AMNY reported that Transportation Alternatives counted 21 bike rider deaths in New York City in 2023 at that point; the Daily News reported 20 traditional cyclist and e-bike rider deaths as of the previous day.
Jada Yeboah of Transportation Alternatives said New Yorkers should not fear death or injury on city streets and called on Mayor Eric Adams to meet the NYC Streets Plan's requirements for protected places to bike.