Bicyclist critically injured in Queens hit-and-run
NEW YORK -- A hit-and-run in Queens left a bicyclist seriously hurt Sunday morning.
Exclusive surveillance video shows a man renting a Citi Bike from the docking station parallel to Northern Boulevard near 48th Street around 12:40 a.m. Sunday. He appears to try to cut across moving traffic on Northern Boulevard when he's struck by the driver of what police describe as a 2003 Nissan Pathfinder.
"You have to take some caution while riding in a place like this. There's cars that zoom by here all the time," cyclist Robert Kim said.
Police say the 24-year-old victim was taken to Elmhurst Hospital in critical condition.
The NYPD says the Nissan was later found parked in Brooklyn.
"That's not right. That's not right," Sunnyside resident Ricardo Rivera said. "When I cross, I cross really, really slow. I'm watching everything."
Sunday morning, the mangled bike and pieces of the vehicle littered the roadway.
Sunnyside resident Patricia Alcala, who lives in the area, says her neighbor was killed by a driver while crossing the intersection.
For years, Northern Boulevard has notoriously been referred to as "the Boulevard of Death" due to multiple pedestrian fatalities. City leaders have tried several safety measures.
"I know Northern Boulevard, even though they put cameras and the speed is low now, it's very dangerous. It's very, very dangerous. They don't respect and they go high speeds," Alcala said.
"It's a really critical way to travel via automobile, and the nature of being a cyclist, you have to take the same roads ... You gotta be doubly aware," one person said.
The NYPD is actively investigating, and we are waiting to learn more about who the vehicle belonged to.
At this time, no arrests have been made.