Driver charged after fatal Williamsburg cycling crash.
Police said Can Homer, 40, struck cyclist Luis Mendez, 46, on Union Avenue near Lynch Street in Brooklyn on Sept. 1, 2024; the official record logs the crash at 11:26 a.m., and Streetsblog reported police charged Homer with vehicular manslaughter and driving while intoxicated.
Location reported in Open Data.
What We Know
On Sept. 1, 2024, police said Can Homer, 40, was driving north on Union Avenue when he struck cyclist Luis Mendez, 46, near Lynch Street in Williamsburg. The official record gives the crash time as 11:26 a.m.; news reports said about 11:30. Accounts differ on the sequence: Streetsblog reported Homer hit several parked cars before Mendez, then another parked car; the Daily News and New York Post described the driver striking Mendez before hitting a parked vehicle. Reports also differed on whether Homer drove a van or an SUV. Streetsblog later reported police charged him with vehicular manslaughter and driving while intoxicated.
Reports describe different crash sequences.
Police accounts described the driver and Mendez traveling north on Union Avenue near Lynch Street around 11:30 a.m. on Sept. 1. The official record gives the date as Sept. 1, 2024, and the time as 11:26 a.m.
Streetsblog, citing the NYPD's initial report, said Homer hit several parked cars before striking Mendez south of Lynch Street, then hit another parked car north of the intersection. The Daily News and New York Post described the driver striking Mendez before hitting a parked vehicle and did not mention earlier impacts.
Union Avenue at Lynch Street
The official record locates the crash at Union Avenue and Lynch Street in Brooklyn. News accounts place it in Williamsburg; Streetsblog said Mendez was struck just south of Lynch Street.
Mendez was 46; the driver was hospitalized.
The official record counts one cyclist killed and one motorist injured. Streetsblog identified the cyclist as Luis Mendez, 46; the Daily News and New York Post also reported that the cyclist was 46. The Daily News said EMS took Mendez to an area hospital, where he died; the Post and Streetsblog reported that he died at Kings County Hospital.
Streetsblog identified the driver as Can Homer, 40, and a Bedford-Stuyvesant resident. It and the Daily News reported that the driver was hospitalized in stable condition.
Reports differ on the vehicle descriptions.
The New York Post described Homer driving a black Volkswagen SUV; the Daily News and Streetsblog called the vehicle a van. The official record lists a 2024 Volkswagen classified as a station wagon or sport utility vehicle, but that broad category does not settle the differing press descriptions.
The Post described the parked vehicle Homer hit after Mendez as a white Honda Odyssey; the Daily News called it an unoccupied sedan, while Streetsblog referred to a parked car. The official record lists several parked vehicles but does not establish which one matches each report.
Police reported charges the next day.
Streetsblog's Sept. 2 update reported that police charged Homer with multiple counts, including vehicular manslaughter, driving while intoxicated and driving without a license.