Passenger dies after Queens scooter operator swerves
At 12:24 a.m. on Dec. 4, 2023, a 25-year-old operator on an eastbound scooter or moped swerved to avoid a driver turning left at Jamaica Avenue and 146th Street, lost control, and Sezero Gonzales, 62, died.
What We Know
Just after 12:24 a.m. on Dec. 4, 2023, a 25-year-old operator was heading east on Jamaica Avenue with a passenger when, police told the Daily News, he swerved right to avoid a driver turning left from 146th Street. The operator lost control, and Sezero Gonzales, 62, was thrown from the back. Medics took both men to Jamaica Hospital, where Gonzales died and the operator was listed in stable condition. The city crash record lists the ride as a 2023 Fly Wing moped with two occupants and cites reaction to an uninvolved vehicle as a contributing factor. Police said the driver the operator was trying to avoid stayed at the scene and had not been charged as the investigation continued.
A late-night swerve preceded the fatal fall
The city crash record places the crash at 12:24 a.m. on Dec. 4, 2023, at Jamaica Avenue and 146th Street. It records one motorist killed and one motorist injured.
Police told the Daily News that a 25-year-old operator was heading east on Jamaica Avenue when he swerved right to avoid a driver turning left from 146th Street. Police said the operator lost control, and the passenger riding on the back was thrown off.
The crash happened in Jamaica, Queens
The recorded location was Jamaica Avenue at 146th Street in Jamaica, Queens. The Daily News account, citing police, said the operator was traveling east on Jamaica Avenue and reacting to a driver turning left from 146th Street.
Sezero Gonzales was the passenger who died
The official record identifies the person killed as a 62-year-old male passenger. Police identified him to the Daily News as Sezero Gonzales of Richmond Hill.
Medics took Gonzales and the operator to Jamaica Hospital, the Daily News reported. Gonzales died there, and the operator was listed in stable condition.
Records describe a moped; police described a gas-powered scooter
The city crash record lists a 2023 Fly Wing moped with two occupants, eastbound travel, center-front damage and a male driver listed as unlicensed in New York.
The Daily News, citing police, described the ride as a gas-powered scooter operated by a 25-year-old. Police said the driver the operator was trying to avoid remained at the scene.
Investigators focused on the operator's reaction to another driver
The city crash record lists reaction to an uninvolved vehicle as a contributing factor. The Daily News account gives the police description: the operator swerved to avoid a driver turning left off 146th Street.
Police said the driver the operator was swerving to avoid had not been charged while the investigation continued, according to the Daily News.