Cyclist killed by tractor trailer near Willis Avenue Bridge in the south Bronx

Add one more to a slew of recent pedestrian fatalities that have plagued the Bronx in 2020.

A cyclist was fatally struck by a tractor trailer near the Willis Avenue Bridge in the intersection of Bruckner Boulevard and Brown Place at about 1:46 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 6.

Police said the westbound cyclist collided into the back of the tractor trailer while riding on Bruckner Boulevard as the vehicle was moving southbound on Brown Place, leaving the victim unconscious on the roadway.

The cyclist was brought to nearby Lincoln Hospital where he was pronounced dead. The 34-year-old driver of the tractor trailer remained on scene and the investigation is ongoing, according to the NYPD’s Highway Patrol Collision Investigation Squad.

In response to the fatality, Transportation Alternatives Executive Director Danny Harris addressed an uptick the borough’s cyclist fatalities.

“This has been a particularly deadly year in the Bronx, and not just for cyclists. In 2019, there were 28 traffic deaths in the Bronx, while in 2020, we have now seen at least 46. This year, 22 percent of all fatal New York City traffic crashes happened in the Bronx, compared to 13 percent in 2019,” he said in statement, adding that the Bronx has seen the most cyclist deaths citywide in 2020.

The agency said that this is the eighth cyclists killed in the Bronx this year and the 21st cyclist killed in the city overall.

“Only three percent of the city’s total protected bike lane mileage is in the Bronx, compared to about 50 percent in Manhattan. This crash took place on a particularly hostile stretch of Bruckner Boulevard, just a block west of where a protected bike lane turns north toward the Willis Avenue Bridge entrance,” Harris added.

The executive director also called that south Bronx corridor is a truck route, saying it is “precisely the type of street that requires complete, dedicated bike infrastructure which separates people on bikes from multi-ton tractor trailers.”