Motorcyclist dies on Williamsburg Bridge ramp amid disputed accounts
A 25-year-old man driving a motorcycle died at 4:11 a.m. on the Williamsburg Bridge exit ramp at Borinquen Place, while police accounts reported by news outlets differed on whether another driver fled or the rider hit a barrier and light pole at speed.
What We Know
A 25-year-old man driving a motorcycle died early on July 9, 2022, on the Williamsburg Bridge exit ramp at Borinquen Place. The city crash record lists unsafe speed and a 2015 Yamaha motorcycle. Press accounts citing police do not agree on the sequence: the Daily News, New York Post, and News 12 described a hit-and-run involving another driver, while amNY reported that the rider, traveling at high speed, hit a barrier wall and a light pole. News reports said he was pronounced dead at the scene, and his name had not been released while police notified family.
At the Williamsburg Bridge ramp to the BQE
The crash was recorded at the Williamsburg Bridge exit ramp at Borinquen Place. News reports described the rider traveling eastbound from the bridge toward the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway.
Police accounts reported by news outlets conflict
The city crash record says one motorist was killed at 4:11 a.m. and lists a motorcycle as the only recorded vehicle, with unsafe speed as a contributing factor.
The Daily News, New York Post, and News 12 reported police accounts that the 25-year-old motorcyclist was in a hit-and-run crash with another driver. The Post said police described the other driver as “possibly a taxi.”
amNY reported a different police account: the rider was heading down the bridge off-ramp to the eastbound BQE at high speed when he hit a roadway barrier wall and a light pole, then was ejected from the Yamaha motorcycle.
The rider was 25 years old
The crash record identifies the person killed as a 25-year-old male motorcycle driver and the sole occupant of the motorcycle. News reports said police had not released his name while notifying family.
A Yamaha motorcycle is in the official record
The official record lists a 2015 Yamaha motorcycle traveling east, with one occupant. Several news reports described a possible second driver who did not remain at the scene, but that account does not appear in the city vehicle record provided here.
Police said the investigation was open
The New York Post reported that the NYPD Highway Collision Investigation Squad was investigating and that police had made no arrests. The Daily News also reported no arrests on July 9.