Comedian Dies After E-Bike Crash on Rogers Avenue
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Comedian Kenny DeForest, 37, died five days after an 8:43 a.m. e-bike crash on Rogers Avenue in Brooklyn; police reported a collision with a parked car, while his friend cited an EMS report suggesting no other vehicle was involved.
Location reported in Open Data.
What We Know
Kenny DeForest, a 37-year-old comedian, was riding an e-bike on Rogers Avenue in Brooklyn on the morning of December 8, 2023. Police told reporters the crash involved an unoccupied parked car near St. Marks Avenue. DeForest's friend Ryan Beck, citing an EMS report and conversations with crossing guards, said he believed no other vehicle was involved and placed the crash near Sterling Place. The city crash record lists defective pavement as a contributing factor but does not explain how it affected the crash. DeForest died December 13 at Kings County Hospital after surgery for a brain bleed. Fellow comedians mourned a performer known for his New York stand-up work and late-night television appearances.
Accounts differ on what happened.
The city recorded the crash at 8:43 a.m. on December 8 as a fatal e-bike crash involving a 37-year-old rider. Police later told reporters DeForest had collided with an unoccupied parked car. His friend Ryan Beck said information from an EMS report and conversations with crossing guards led him to believe no other vehicle was involved.
Paramedics took DeForest to Kings County Hospital, where he underwent surgery to relieve pressure from a brain bleed. He died there on December 13, surrounded by family and friends, according to Beck.
Reports place the crash at different Rogers Avenue intersections.
The city record places the crash on Rogers Avenue in Brooklyn. Police identified St. Marks Avenue as the cross street, while Beck placed it near Sterling Place. That difference leaves the precise intersection in dispute.
The record flags a pavement condition.
The city crash record lists defective pavement as a contributing factor. The reviewed accounts do not establish how that condition figured in DeForest's crash.
DeForest's comedy community mourned him.
DeForest was a Brooklyn-based stand-up comedian who had appeared on Late Night with Seth Meyers, The Late Late Show with James Corden and Comedy Central. He released a comedy special, Don't You Know Who I Am?, in August 2023. Beck, a fellow comedian, said, "All of us in the New York comedy scene are truly devastated."
Police continued to investigate.
Police told reporters they did not suspect criminality and that their investigation was ongoing. Friends organized a fundraiser for DeForest's medical bills, and Beck said DeForest's organs would be donated.