Delivery e-bike rider fatally hit Luis Cruz in Greenpoint
A 26-year-old e-bike rider hit and killed Luis Cruz, 49, near Franklin and India streets in Greenpoint at about 7:40 p.m. on March 21, 2025, and witnesses told Gothamist the rider had sped through a stop sign while delivering food.
What We Know
On March 21, 2025, a rider on a Zooz e-bike was traveling south on Franklin Street and going straight ahead when Luis Cruz, 49, was fatally injured near India Street in Greenpoint, according to the city crash record and police accounts reported by local news. Brooklyn Paper reported that police said Cruz was crossing midblock between India and Java streets when a 26-year-old rider hit him; Gothamist reported that a witness said Cruz had been double parked and was getting out of his car at Franklin and India streets. The official record lists traffic control disregarded for the rider, and Gothamist quoted a witness who said the rider went through a stop sign while delivering food. Police said the rider stayed at the scene, no arrests had been made, and the investigation was continuing.
The accounts differ on Cruz's exact movement
The city record places the fatal crash at Franklin Street and India Street at 7:41 p.m. and records one pedestrian death involving an e-bike rider. Police identified the pedestrian in press accounts as Luis Cruz, 49.
Brooklyn Paper reported that police said Cruz was crossing Franklin Street midblock between India and Java streets when a 26-year-old e-bike rider hit him. Gothamist reported a witness account that Cruz had been double parked and was getting out of his car at Franklin and India streets.
Franklin Street has a record of injury crashes
The fatal crash was recorded at Franklin Street and India Street in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
CrashCountNYC's Franklin Street corridor context shows 157 crashes, 94 injuries, 6 serious injuries and 1 death from Jan. 1, 2022 through June 1, 2026. Those figures place Cruz's death within a corridor with repeated injury crashes.
Luis Cruz died after severe head trauma
Police identified the pedestrian as Luis Cruz, a 49-year-old Williamsburg man. Brooklyn Paper reported that Cruz suffered severe head trauma and was taken to NYC Health+Hospitals/Bellevue, where he died.
Police said the rider stopped and remained at the scene. Brooklyn Paper reported that no charges had been filed as of the Monday after the crash.
The involved e-bike was recorded as a Zooz model
The city crash record identifies the involved device as a Zooz e-bike with one rider. The record says the rider was traveling south and going straight ahead before the crash, with center-front impact and damage recorded.
Brooklyn Paper reported that police said the e-bike had pedals and noted that New York City e-bike classes can be limited to 20 or 25 mph.
Witnesses and the record point to a stop-sign issue
City crash data later listed traffic control disregarded as a contributing factor for the e-bike rider. Gothamist reported that witness Jack Collins said the rider went through the stop sign while rushing to deliver food.
Police said the investigation was ongoing, and the press accounts reviewed here reported no arrests in the immediate aftermath.
The death renewed debate over delivery work and e-bikes
Gothamist quoted Collins saying the Franklin Street restaurant stretch is busy with delivery workers and that delivery-app systems encourage reckless riding. Brooklyn Paper reported that Transportation Alternatives opposed broad e-bike licensing and urged city officials to focus on delivery apps and street design.