Driver Turning Commercial Truck Kills Teen on Citi Bike
Police said a 57-year-old driver turning a commercial truck from East 14th Street onto First Avenue hit two teens on a Citi Bike, killing 15-year-old Daria Serkov and injuring a second girl.
Reported by press, not yet linked to NYC police crash records. This may change when new official records become available or when matching details are reviewed.
Approximate reported location.
What We Know
A 57-year-old driver in a Peterbilt commercial truck was heading west on East 14th Street and turning right onto First Avenue around 9 p.m. Friday when he hit an electric Citi Bike carrying two teenagers, according to police reports cited by Gothamist, CBS New York and the Daily News. Daria Serkov, 15, of Manhattan, was taken to Bellevue Hospital and died there; the other teen was hospitalized in stable condition. Witnesses told reporters bystanders tried to get the driver to stop, and one witness said the driver was crying afterward. The driver remained at the scene, and police reported no arrests or charges as the investigation continued. Advocates said the First Avenue corridor has a deadly history for bicyclists and called for turn calming and protected bike design at the intersection.
What police and video reports say happened.
Police said the driver was traveling west on East 14th Street and turning right onto First Avenue around 9 p.m. when he hit two girls riding the same Citi Bike. Gothamist reported that the driver was a 57-year-old man in a Peterbilt commercial truck, and the Daily News reported that video showed the bike alongside the truck before the turn.
Reports disagreed on the injured teen’s age as police information changed. Early accounts described her as 13, while CBS New York said police later updated her age to 16; Gothamist and the Daily News also reported that the 16-year-old was operating the bike and survived with injuries.
Daria Serkov died at Bellevue Hospital.
Police identified the girl who died as Daria Serkov, 15, of Manhattan. Medics took both teens to Bellevue Hospital, where Daria was pronounced dead and the other girl was listed in stable condition.
The Daily News reported that Daria lived less than a mile from the intersection and attended New York City Museum School, where she played soccer for Lab Museum United’s Lady Gators. Friends remembered her publicly, including one who wrote that Daria “lit up a room, and made sure that everyone in that room was included, and happy.”
Witnesses described bystanders trying to stop the driver.
Witnesses told the Post, CBS New York and the Daily News that people at the scene shouted for the driver to stop. Bdin Puangsawasdi, a nearby restaurant owner, told reporters he saw the driver get out crying after the collision.
Emergency responders and bystanders tried to help the girls at the scene before medics took them to Bellevue. Police said the driver stayed at the scene.
The commercial truck was tied to Badger Daylighting.
Gothamist identified the truck as a Peterbilt commercial truck, and multiple reports said it bore Badger Daylighting branding. The Post described it as a hydro-excavation truck, and the Daily News reported it was a 2021 Peterbilt.
Badger said it was cooperating with police. “We are devastated by the loss of this young life and extend our heartfelt condolences to her family and friends,” the company said in a statement reported by the Post, CBS New York and the Daily News.
No arrests were reported as investigators reviewed the case.
Police said the driver remained at the scene. The Post reported no charges, while Gothamist, CBS New York and the Daily News reported no arrests as the investigation continued.
The NYPD’s Highway District Collision Investigation Squad was investigating, according to Gothamist.
The East 14th Street and First Avenue corner drew safety warnings.
The collision happened at East 14th Street and First Avenue, a major East Village intersection where westbound traffic on 14th Street meets First Avenue. The Daily News reported that a protected bike lane begins across the avenue from where the girls were hit.
Transportation Alternatives said Daria was the fourth bicyclist killed in an eight-block stretch of First Avenue in the past decade. The group called for turn calming, protected bike infrastructure and a protected intersection; its executive director Ben Furnas called the corner “every bike rider’s nightmare.”