A truck driver was turning when a Brooklyn crash killed a teen.
The Silly One
Police said a 48-year-old driver was turning a 2017 Hino box truck at Ditmas and Coney Island avenues when a crash killed one of three teens riding together; the official record places the collision at 1:54 p.m. on August 19, 2024.
Location reported in Open Data.
What We Know
Police said a 48-year-old driver was turning a box truck at Ditmas and Coney Island avenues when a crash killed a 16-year-old cyclist on August 19, 2024; the official record places the collision at 1:54 p.m. and records one person injured. Reports differ on how the teens came alongside the truck and whether their ride was an e-bike or a scooter. The driver stayed at the scene, and early reports said he was not arrested or charged.
Police accounts differed on the crash sequence.
Gothamist reported that police said the 48-year-old driver was traveling east on Ditmas Avenue in a 2017 Hino box truck before turning right onto southbound Coney Island Avenue. Police told Gothamist that the teens tried to pass alongside the truck, lost control and ended up beneath its wheels.
AmNewYork's account of the police description placed the 16-year-old southbound on Coney Island Avenue and said he tried to pass the turning truck, hit a traffic cone and fell beneath its rear passenger tires. A separate News 12 report attributed to police the account that the teens were traveling at high speed, tried to stop and slid beneath the truck. News 12's report on surveillance video described a collision during a right turn.
The official vehicle entries list both vehicles as southbound and making a right turn. The New York Post instead reported that the teens were traveling on Ditmas Avenue toward Coney Island Avenue and described the crash as occurring during the driver's right turn shortly after 4 p.m.; the official record and Gothamist placed it at 1:54 p.m.
The official record calls the ride an e-bike, as do Gothamist and amNewYork; News 12 described it as a scooter.
Friends remembered a classmate who made them laugh.
News 12 identified the 16-year-old as Umedjon Juraev, a rising junior at John Dewey High School; Gothamist and amNewYork used the name Juraed Umedjon. Gothamist and the New York Post reported that police said he was taken to Maimonides Medical Center and pronounced dead there.
News 12 reported that friends and family gathered at a mosque on Ocean Parkway to mourn him. His friend Christian called him a goofball and the "silly one" who always had his class laughing; Diyorbek said he loved soccer and video games. News 12 also said he was an only child who lived with his mother and was close to her.
The official record counts one person injured in addition to the person killed. Police accounts reported by Gothamist and amNewYork said a 15-year-old was hospitalized in stable condition and another 16-year-old was treated at the scene for minor injuries; the New York Post said the third teen was unhurt.
The intersection is part of a busy corridor.
The crash occurred at Ditmas Avenue and Coney Island Avenue in Kensington, Brooklyn, according to the official record and local reporting.
Gothamist reported that transit advocates described the intersection as busy and noted the lack of a dedicated bike lane. AmNewYork reported that crashes along Coney Island Avenue had killed 15 people and injured nearly 2,800 since 2011.
The driver stayed at the scene.
Police said the driver remained at the scene. Gothamist reported that he was not arrested; News 12 said no arrests or charges had been made at the time of its coverage, and amNewYork reported that police did not suspect criminality.