Driver in Kia Fatally Hit Scooter Rider in Bensonhurst
On Aug. 20, 2022, at 18th Avenue and 74th Street in Brooklyn, a driver in a Kia sedan hit scooter rider Qiu Rifeng, who police said died at Maimonides after severe head trauma.
What We Know
On Aug. 20, 2022, a driver in a Kia sedan hit Qiu Rifeng at 18th Avenue and 74th Street in Bensonhurst. City crash data records the crash at 12:30 p.m.; news accounts citing police reported about 12:50 p.m. Police told reporters Rifeng was riding a Hover-1 scooter on the sidewalk of 74th Street and tried to cross 18th Avenue when the driver, a 23-year-old man heading south, hit him. The official file lists the fatal rider as 21, while the reviewed news reports identified him as 22. Medics took Rifeng to Maimonides Medical Center, where he died. Police said the driver remained at the scene, and reporters said there were no immediate charges or arrests.
Police described a sidewalk-to-avenue crossing
City records place the fatal crash on Aug. 20, 2022, at 18th Avenue and 74th Street in Brooklyn, and list one person killed. The official time is 12:30 p.m.; the Daily News and amNY, citing police, reported about 12:50 p.m.
Police told reporters Qiu Rifeng was riding a Hover-1 scooter on the sidewalk of 74th Street and tried to cross 18th Avenue when a 23-year-old driver in a 2022 Kia K5, heading south on 18th Avenue, hit him. The impact threw Rifeng to the pavement, and police said he suffered severe head trauma.
Reports identified the rider as Qiu Rifeng
The official person record lists the person killed as a 21-year-old male e-scooter driver. The Daily News and amNY identified him as Qiu Rifeng and reported that he was 22.
Both news accounts said Rifeng was riding close to his home on 74th Street before the crash. The Daily News reported that he was not wearing a helmet, citing an NYPD spokesperson.
The official file listed a sedan and an e-scooter
The city vehicle records list a 2022 Kia sedan whose driver was traveling south and going straight ahead, and a 2019 Hover-1 e-scooter whose rider was traveling east and going straight ahead. News reports described the Kia as a 2022 Kia K5 and the scooter as a Hover-1 Journey.
18th Avenue has a documented crash burden
The crash happened at 18th Avenue and 74th Street in Bensonhurst. amNY reported that the intersection had no marked crosswalk across 18th Avenue in the direction Rifeng was traveling, and that a person trying to cross the two-way avenue there would have had to go one block north or south.
CrashCountNYC location data for 18th Avenue in Brooklyn recorded 608 crashes, 402 injuries, 23 serious injuries and 7 deaths from the start of 2022 through June 1, 2026.
Medics took Rifeng to Maimonides
Paramedics took Rifeng to Maimonides Medical Center, where he died. Police said the 23-year-old Kia driver remained at the scene; the Daily News reported no immediate charges, and amNY reported that police had made no arrests.