Teen E-Bike Rider Dies at Ditmas and Coney Island Avenues
A 48-year-old box-truck driver was turning at Ditmas Avenue and Coney Island Avenue on Aug. 19, 2024, when a crash left 16-year-old e-bike rider Juraed Umedjon dead and another teen injured, records and police accounts show.
What We Know
Juraed Umedjon, 16, died after a crash involving an e-bike and a box-truck driver at Ditmas Avenue and Coney Island Avenue in Brooklyn on Aug. 19, 2024. The city crash record lists one cyclist killed and one cyclist injured. Police accounts reported by news outlets said Umedjon was riding with two other teenage boys and that a 48-year-old man driving a 2017 Hino box truck was making a right turn. Published accounts differed on the precise sequence: the Post reported the teens were hit as the driver turned, while Gothamist and amNewYork reported that the teens attempted to pass, lost control, and ended up beneath the truck. Police said the driver remained at the scene and was not arrested.
Police described a right turn and three teens on one e-bike
The city crash record places the collision at Ditmas Avenue and Coney Island Avenue at 1:54 p.m. on Aug. 19, 2024, and lists a box truck and an e-bike. The record lists one cyclist killed and one cyclist injured.
News reports citing police said Juraed Umedjon, 16, was on the e-bike with two other teenage boys. Gothamist reported that police described the truck driver as a 48-year-old man driving a 2017 Hino box truck and said he was making a right turn onto southbound Coney Island Avenue.
Accounts differed on the exact sequence before Umedjon was run over
The New York Post reported that the three teens were traveling on Ditmas Avenue toward Coney Island Avenue and were hit as the truck driver made a right turn. Gothamist and amNewYork reported that police said the teens attempted to pass alongside the truck, lost control, and ended up beneath the truck; amNewYork added that police said Umedjon hit a traffic cone before falling to the roadway.
Umedjon died at the hospital; two other teens survived
Police identified the teen who died as Juraed Umedjon. The Post reported that he was taken to Maimonides Medical Center and pronounced dead there. Police told outlets that a 15-year-old boy was hospitalized in stable condition, while another 16-year-old boy had minor injuries or was not hurt, depending on the published account.
The crash happened on a corridor advocates call dangerous
The collision occurred at Ditmas Avenue and Coney Island Avenue in Brooklyn. Gothamist described the intersection area as a busy thoroughfare and reported that transit advocates criticized the lack of a dedicated bike lane there.
amNewYork reported that Coney Island Avenue has had 15 traffic deaths since 2011, including three cyclists, and nearly 2,800 injuries along the corridor over the same period.
Police reported no arrest at the scene
Police told news outlets that the box-truck driver remained at the scene. The Post and Gothamist reported that no arrests had been made, and amNewYork reported that police did not suspect criminality.
Transportation Alternatives said Umedjon was the 12th child killed in New York City traffic in 2024 and the 15th cyclist killed that year, according to reports published the next day.