Tractor-trailer driver fatally struck motorcyclist on Queens LIE.
A 34-year-old tractor-trailer driver crossed pavement markings while entering an exit lane and struck motorcyclist Gregory Benning on the Long Island Expressway, according to reported police accounts; the city records the fatal crash at 8:35 a.m. on June 1, 2024.
Location reported in Open Data.
What We Know
A 34-year-old driver in a 2021 Isuzu tractor-trailer crossed pavement markings while entering the left exit lane toward the westbound Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and struck motorcyclist Gregory Benning, according to police accounts reported by QNS and 1010 WINS. The city records the crash on the Long Island Expressway at 8:35 a.m. on June 1, 2024, with one person killed. Both reports say Benning was taken to Elmhurst Hospital and pronounced dead; they say the driver remained at the scene, no arrest had been made, and the investigation was ongoing.
Police accounts describe the lane change and point of contact.
Police accounts reported by QNS and 1010 WINS say a 34-year-old man driving a 2021 Isuzu tractor-trailer was westbound in the right lane of the Long Island Expressway at 63rd Street. The driver crossed pavement markings while entering the left exit lane toward the westbound Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, where he struck Benning, the reports say.
QNS reported that Benning crashed into the passenger side of the truck and was thrown from his motorcycle. 1010 WINS also placed Benning in the left exit lane and described contact with the truck's passenger side, but its wording does not clearly identify who made that contact.
The city record lists the tractor truck as changing lanes before the crash and records "Traffic Control Disregarded" as a contributing factor.
Benning built a bike-repair service that helped neighbors.
QNS identified Gregory Benning as an Ozone Park resident. His family told QNS that he started a business at 15, which had grown into the mobile bike-repair service BikeRescueNYC by age 22; he repaired bicycles for children and older residents free of charge. QNS said his family had lived in the same Ozone Park home since the 1920s.
QNS and 1010 WINS reported Benning was 24; the official record lists the killed motorcyclist as 26.
Reports agree on the truck but differ on the motorcycle's year.
QNS and 1010 WINS described the driver's vehicle as a 2021 Isuzu tractor-trailer; the city record classifies it as a diesel tractor truck and lists a 2021 Isuzu make.
QNS called Benning's motorcycle a red 2022 Yamaha R6. 1010 WINS described it as a 2002 R6 Yamaha, and the city record lists a 2002 Yamaha motorcycle.
The driver remained at the scene as the investigation continued.
QNS and 1010 WINS reported that EMS took Benning to Elmhurst Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Both said the tractor-trailer driver remained at the scene, no arrest had been made, and the investigation was ongoing.
Where
LONG ISLAND EXPRESSWAY