A pedestrian who was struck by a pedal cyclist as he crossed the park\u2019s Drive on Sept. 23 has died, the victim\u2019s family announced on Sunday.<\/p>\n
According to police and witnesses, Richie O\u2019Brien was walking on the East Drive on his way to work as a union steamfitter around 6:35 a.m. last Wednesday when he was struck by a 32-year-old cyclist on a regular pedal bike. Both men were thrown to the pavement, but O\u2019Brien suffered severe head trauma.<\/p>\n
He was taken to Weill-Cornell in critical condition. He remained in a medically induced coma all week, but died on Sunday, according to a post by his family<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are incredibly grateful for the love, prayers, and support that have surrounded Richie and his family throughout this heartbreaking journey,\u201d the family said in a statement.<\/p>\n O\u2019Brien is survived by his wife Ronni and daughters, 8 and 12.<\/p>\n The bicyclist, whose name was not released by police, remained on the scene with minor injuries that were treated without hospitalization. A witness, a frequent park runner Laura Sackler, said he was \u201cvery shocked and confused which turned into what I felt like was disbelief and he was clearly emotionally devastated [and] and at one point near tears.\u201d<\/p>\n Sackler said O\u2019Brien was never conscious after the crash. He had lost a substantial amount of blood and \u201cit took an incredibly long time to get medical help to him.\u201d<\/p>\n The initial police report said that the crash happened near W. 84th Street, but Sackler told Streetsblog that the crash happened at E. 84th Street, just behind the Metropolitan Museum, and the cyclist has been heading northbound, which is the correct direction. Sackler, confirmed that the cyclist was on a regular pedal bike out for recreation in the early morning before the park gets crowded.<\/p>\n The detail is important, Sackler said, because initially, there were inaccurate posts online.<\/p>\n \u201cI made the clarification to fix the inaccuracy and also hope it would stop the online backlash \u2026 that\u2019s totally unrelated to this case,\u201d she said, adding, however, that \u201cwe have a serious e-bike issue.\u201d<\/p>\n That \u201cissue\u201d will come to a head on Wednesday, when the City Council takes up more than a dozen bills related to micromobility, and anti-e-bike testimony from anti-cycling forces is expected to run into the many hours.<\/p>\n So far this year, 66 pedestrians have been killed by drivers, according to the Department of Transportation. None has been killed by e-bike riders.<\/p>\n After the crash, the Central Park Conservancy issued a statement<\/a> reiterating its call \u201cfor additional safety measures on the Drives,\u201d specifically making permanent the current 15-mile-per-hour speed limit and better enforcement.<\/p>\n Park officials also called for \u201cbetter bike infrastructure around the Park\u2019s perimeter so that commuters and delivery riders have safe, direct routes that don\u2019t require cutting through the Park itself.\u201d Streetsblog has long covered<\/a> similar proposals<\/a> put forth by safety advocates.<\/p>\n