Driver charged after cyclist dies in Williamsburg crash.
A driver struck 46-year-old cyclist Luis Mendez at Union Avenue and Lynch Street in Brooklyn on Sept. 1, 2024, in a crash the city records at 11:26 a.m.; police later announced vehicular manslaughter charges, Streetsblog reported.
Location reported in Open Data.
What We Know
On Sept. 1, 2024, a driver struck 46-year-old cyclist Luis Mendez at Union Avenue and Lynch Street in Williamsburg, according to Streetsblog; the city record counts one cyclist killed and one motorist injured. Press accounts differ on the sequence involving parked cars and describe the driver's vehicle as a van, SUV or minivan. Police later announced charges, while reports spell the driver's name as both Homer and Nomer.
Reports give different accounts of the sequence.
The Daily News and the Post said the driver struck the cyclist before hitting a parked vehicle. Streetsblog, citing the initial police report, said the driver hit several parked cars before striking the cyclist; the article separately described video showing a later collision with a parked car after the cyclist was struck. The city record gives the crash time as 11:26 a.m.; press reports describe it as around 11:30 a.m.
The cyclist was 46.
The city record identifies the person killed as a 46-year-old male bicyclist. Streetsblog identified him as Luis Mendez and reported he was taken to Kings County Hospital, where he died.
Reports describe the driver's vehicle differently.
The Daily News and Streetsblog called the driver's vehicle a van; the Post described a black Volkswagen SUV. Spectrum used both minivan and Volkswagen Tiguan descriptions. The official record classifies the driver's 2024 Volkswagen as an SUV and lists four unoccupied parked vehicles, but does not establish the full impact sequence.
Police later announced charges.
Streetsblog reported charges against the 40-year-old driver including vehicular manslaughter, driving while intoxicated and driving without a license. Spectrum reported second-degree vehicular manslaughter and charges including impaired driving, driving without a license and disobeying a traffic-control device. These are reported charges, not findings of guilt.
Streetsblog printed the driver's name as Can Homer; Greenpointers and Spectrum printed it as Can Nomer. The reports do not resolve the spelling difference.
Where
UNION AVENUE and LYNCH STREET