New York City police are searching for a driver who fled after striking and killing a 29-year-old woman riding an e-bike to work in Brooklyn early Tuesday morning.
The victim, identified in local reporting as Paulina Pec, was riding westbound on Jamaica Avenue near Cypress Hills Street at approximately 5:45 a.m. on August 18 when she was struck from behind by a white pickup truck traveling in the same direction, according to the NYPD.
Police said the driver did not remain at the scene and fled northbound on Cypress Hills Street. Authorities are now working to identify and locate the motorist.
Pec’s manager at a nearby Sonic Drive-In told Streetsblog that she regularly used the same route to commute to work and was heading to her job when the collision occurred. He described her death as devastating and raised concerns about cycling safety along Jamaica Avenue.
According to her manager, police told him that Pec’s e-bike was street legal and had a maximum speed of 25 mph, within the legal limit. The section of Jamaica Avenue where the collision occurred does not have a protected bicycle lane, although a protected lane exists on part of nearby Cypress Hills Street.
The fatal collision has renewed attention to the risks faced by cyclists and e-bike riders traveling on busy New York City streets, particularly during early-morning commuting hours.
The NYPD investigation remains ongoing, and police are continuing their search for the driver involved in the fatal hit-and-run.
