A 47-year-old died after crashing his moped into a parked car in Harding Park on Tuesday.
At about 12:42 a.m. early Tuesday morning, police responded to a call of a vehicle collision at Soundview Avenue and White Plains Road in the 43rd Precinct.
According to the preliminary investigation, a 47-year-old man operating a gas-powered moped had struck a parked unoccupied car when he tried to take a left turn onto Soundview Avenue, traveling southbound on White Plains Road.
The moped driver, who has been identified as Van Nest resident James Ferguson, sustained head trauma from the crash. EMS brought him to Jacobi Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
The NYPD Highway District’s Collision Investigation Squad is investigating the incident.
Year to date, there have been 293 motorist injuries — which includes motorcyclists — 24 bike injuries, 64 pedestrian injuries and one pedestrian fatality in the 43rd precinct as of July 31, according to city Vision Zero data. The precinct also includes Parkchester, Unionport, Soundview, Castle Hill and Clason Point in the southeast Bronx.
Boroughwide, there have been 2,847 motorist injuries, 720 pedestrian injuries, 264 bicycle injuries, seven pedestrian fatalities, five motorist fatalities and two bicycle fatalities year to date.
Moped operators are required to have a license and license plate. The moped in Tuesday’s incident was not registered — making it an illegal device, according to the NYC Department of Transportation (DOT). But because the device had a vehicle identification number, it will be categorized by the city as a motorcyclist fatality.
From Aug. 1-27, there were 36 police-reported crashes involving mopeds in the Bronx, according to DOT data.
The NYPD did not respond to a request for more information by time of publication.
Reach Aliya Schneider at aschneider@schnepsmedia.com or (718) 260-4597. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes
