Garbage Truck Flees The Scene After Fatally Striking Bicyclist In Brooklyn
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – A garbage truck struck and killed a bicyclist early Saturday morning in Greenpoint, Brooklyn and then fled the scene, police say.
As CBS2's Dave Carlin reported, the NYPD set up an electronic sign where the fatal hit-and run happened on Franklin Street. It's impossible to miss for the many bicyclists and motorist who share the narrow lanes – but not always safely.
The 27-year-old victim, identified as Neftaly Ramirez, was riding his bicycle on Franklin Street near Noble Street around 12:30 a.m. when police say he was struck by a green garbage truck with white and yellow lettering. The driver left Ramirez in the street to die.
"It's really very sad, and it's horrible," said Mary Ann Giannone, who lives in the apartment building closest to where he was hit.
She saw police respond to the scene out her window, and said the street is busy and treacherous day and night.
"The trucks – you hear them all night long, they just fly down the street," she told Carlin. "I guess at night the visibility is not good, it's dark."
"I'm not sure whether he was aware that he hit someone or not. But to my understanding, he kept going," resident Rufus Whitney said.
The city sanitation department checked where its crews were at the time of the hit-and-run, and a spokesperson told CBS2 the department does not believe the suspect works for them. It might be a driver with a private company that uses garbage trucks.
On the Lower East Side where Ramirez lived with his brother and sister-in-law, neighbor Daniel Mata described him as a good and nice guy.
Detectives went from building to building searching for security footage.
Bicyclists said the tragedy reminds everyone on the roads to slow down and stay alert.
"Because I bike forever. You just have to not trust the motorists," Greenpoint resident Chris Jackson said. "They might turn in front of you. Just watch what they're doing."
It's not clear why Ramirez was in Greenpoint at the time of the crash.