The Brooklyn high schooler who died in a crash with an SUV while riding an illegal e-bike past City Hall was seeking help filling out summer job applications when he was killed, his sister said.
Gabriel Nacato, 17, was riding a Deepower e-moto bike when he and the driver of a 2008 black Chevy Tahoe collided near Chambers St. while heading in the same direction on Centre St. about 8:55 a.m. Wednesday, cops said.
The victim’s sister said the teen was killed on his way to Chinatown, where he planned to meet with job counselors for help filling out applications.
“He was a beautiful boy. He was loved by everyone,” said the sister, 25-year-old Fernanda Nacato. “We’re all crying. We all miss him.”
Gabriel died at the scene, just steps away from the Municipal Building and City Hall.
NYPD officers and detectives investigate a fatal e-bike collision on Centre St. near Chambers St. in Lower Manhattan on Wednesday. (Barry Williams / New York Daily News)
Under New York State law, bikes with electric motors exceeding 750 watts aren’t permitted on city streets. City law also bars the use of e-mobility devices that exceed 25 mph. Nacato’s bike had a 960-watt motor and could travel up to 30 mph, police said.
His sister said she was unaware her brother’s bike wasn’t street legal.
Sonia Ariza, 38, was working nearby when she heard a “hard, loud bang” and glanced over to see another bicyclist attempting to resuscitate the teen.
“You could see the body from the park and people were screaming,” said Ariza. “He had his Jordans on and I was like, ‘He was a kid! He was 17! He was a baby!’”
Gabriel Nacato. (Courtesy of Family)
The teen attended 11th grade at Manhattan International School and was preparing for his senior year, his sister said. He lived with his family in Bensonhurst, where the teen’s relatives gathered Wednesday to console each other.
“He was a funny extrovert. He was always very social and he was very kind,” his sister said. “We’re broken.”
The victim’s sister said her family plans to send her brother’s body back to Ecuador.
The Tahoe driver, a 40-year-old woman, remained at the scene and wasn’t immediately charged, cops said. An investigation by the NYPD Collision Investigation Squad remains ongoing.
NYPD officers and detectives investigate a fatal e-bike collision on Centre St. near Chambers St. in Lower Manhattan on Wednesday. (Barry Williams / New York Daily News)
“When she came out of the car to see the kid, she was still on the phone,” said Ariza. “She was standing with everyone and she was pacing back and forth.”
Gabriel’s death has spurred transportation advocates to demand an end to the sale of illegal high-speed e-mobility devices within city limits.
“This 17-year-old boy was sold something he should never have been allowed to buy, and now he’s dead,” said Ben Furnas, executive director at Transportation Alternatives. “We need New York’s Attorney General and City Council to act now to end the sale of illegal high-speed devices, and save lives. They are dangerous high-speed devices that are putting pedestrians at risk, cyclists at risk, and the operators themselves at risk.”
The teen’s tragic death follows a fatal crash on the Queensborough Bridge on May 28, when Francis Delvalle, 39, lost control of the illegal high-speed scooter he was riding and slammed into Dmytro Stechenko, 35, who was riding a pedal bike.
Medics rushed both men to New York-Presbyterian Hospital Queens, where they died.