Driver fled after striking cyclist on Washington Bridge.
A driver fled after striking 30-year-old cyclist Zenaido Rosas Pinzon, ABC7 reported; the official record places the fatal crash at 11:07 p.m. May 23, 2024, at Washington Bridge and Amsterdam Avenue in Manhattan.
Approximate reported location.
What We Know
ABC7 reported that a driver in a dark-colored SUV or minivan struck Rosas Pinzon as he rode on the Washington Bridge and fled. Streetsblog, citing police, gave a different sequence: it said he fell into the roadway before a driver in a dark-colored car ran him over. His brother said he was riding home from a dishwasher job in Manhattan; Streetsblog reported that the bridge's promised protected bike lane remained unfinished.
Reports differ on how the crash unfolded
The official record lists one 30-year-old bicyclist killed and identifies an e-bike for that person. ABC7 identified the cyclist as Zenaido Rosas Pinzon and reported that a driver in a dark-colored SUV or minivan struck him while he was biking and fled. ABC7 said no arrests had been made as of May 24.
Streetsblog, citing police, reported that Rosas Pinzon lost control and fell into the roadway before a driver in a dark-colored car ran him over and fled. ABC7 did not describe a fall before impact. The reports differ both on the sequence and on the driver's vehicle description.
His commute and community
Streetsblog reported that Rosas Pinzon lived on Plimpton Avenue near the Bronx end of the bridge. His brother, Cruz Rosas-Ponzon, told the outlet that he was on his way home from a dishwasher job in Manhattan; the brothers both biked to work at a Manhattan restaurant.
Streetsblog reported, citing a Facebook group for delivery workers, that Rosas Pinzon had immigrated from Xalpatlahuac in Guerrero, Mexico. Friends and neighbors raised money for his funeral and to return his remains to his family in Mexico.
Antonio Romano, who supported the fundraising, told Streetsblog, "The bike was Zenaido's transportation, his way of getting to work."
A protected bike path was still unfinished
The official record places the crash at Washington Bridge and Amsterdam Avenue in Manhattan. Streetsblog describes the bridge as a busy crossing between the Bronx and uptown Manhattan.
Streetsblog reported that the city had promised a two-way protected bike path on the bridge's north side by summer or fall 2023, but the path remained under construction after the crash. The outlet said cyclists used a narrow shared path with pedestrians or the eastbound bus lane.
DOT spokesperson Will Livingston told Streetsblog that construction complexities had delayed the project and that the agency expected the path to open in summer 2024. Family and friends called on the city to complete it.