Cyclist Critically Injured After Colliding With Pedestrian In Central Park
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Police SUVs swarmed a popular area of Central Park on Monday afternoon after a loud and bloody collision between a man on a bike and a person out walking.
John Moore was in the park near 74th Street and East Drive and saw that delivery driver unconscious on the pavement.
"He fell over and fell on his head," Moore told CBS2's Jessica Layton. "When you come up on situations like this, you feel helpless."
It isn't clear who was responsible for the crash that sent the cyclist to the hospital in critical condition.
As police investigated the incident, a woman was hit by a cyclist as she rode her bike with a group in almost the same area. Moments later, Mike Ryan wiped out on his bike right in front of CBS2's crew. He was holding his phone and not wearing a helmet.
Layton: "This is the third bike crash today."
Ryan: "Really?"
Layton: "Yeah."
Ryan: "Ouch. Probably because people like me are on Snapchat instead of, like, watching the road."
Layton: "Where's your helmet?"
Ryan: "I don't want helmet head."
Bike riders will tell you pedestrians walk in their path without looking. Pedestrians say out-of-control cyclists gain momentum coming down the hill and refuse to slow down unless forced to by the NYPD.
CBS2 witnessed an officer stopping a cyclist.
"Yo, yo, stop your bike right there, stop," he told the cyclist. "One, you got headphones on. That's against the law. Two, you're riding like a maniac."
"It's very dangerous," Upper West Side resident Jordan Abada said. "I see people get hit all the time ... I just think it needs to be a lot more clear as to when cyclists can go and can't go."
The red traffic lights seem pretty clear, but in a matter of seconds, CBS2 saw 11 people on bicycles blow right through them and three crashes -- too many close calls in just one hour.
No matter who is at fault for Monday's serious crash, both bicyclists and pedestrians say it's time we realize we're all sharing the roads and respect is greatly lacking -- not just in Central Park, but all over the city.
