Truck driver killed cyclist Adam Uster at Franklin and Lexington
A licensed driver in a 2021 Isuzu truck was turning right at Franklin Avenue and Lexington Avenue as 39-year-old cyclist and advocate Adam Uster rode south, and Uster died after he was taken to New York-Presbyterian.
What We Know
Adam Uster, a 39-year-old cyclist, was riding south on Franklin Avenue near Lexington Avenue late on the morning of May 1, 2023. The city crash record says a licensed driver in a 2021 Isuzu dump truck was also traveling south and making a right turn while Uster was going straight on a bike, and it lists failure to yield right-of-way as a contributing factor. Gothamist and Bicycling, citing police and video, described the driver as operating a flat-bed truck and reported that Uster died after he was taken to New York-Presbyterian. Friends, relatives and street-safety advocates later gathered at the corner for a vigil and ghost-bike installation, remembering Uster as an avid cyclist, a father and a Transportation Alternatives member.
The turn that led to Uster's death
At 11:32 a.m. on May 1, 2023, the city recorded one fatal crash at Franklin Avenue and Lexington Avenue in Brooklyn. The record says a licensed male driver in a 2021 Isuzu dump truck was traveling south and making a right turn as a 39-year-old male bicyclist traveling south went straight.
News accounts identified the bicyclist as Adam Uster. Gothamist reported, based on police and video obtained by Streetsblog, that Uster was riding south on Franklin Avenue when the driver of a 2021 Isuzu flat-bed truck hit him while turning right onto Lexington Avenue. The city record classified the truck as a dump truck, while the articles described it as a flat-bed truck.
Franklin and Lexington became a mourning site
The crash happened at Franklin Avenue and Lexington Avenue in Brooklyn. Gothamist reported that dozens of family members, friends and street-safety advocates later gathered at that corner for a vigil and ghost-bike installation.
At the vigil, speakers connected Uster's death to broader demands for safer street infrastructure. Gothamist reported that Transportation Alternatives Executive Director Danny Harris spoke over traffic noise on Franklin Avenue and pressed city officials to follow through on street-safety promises.
Adam Uster was remembered as a cyclist and advocate
Gothamist identified Uster as a Crown Heights resident and longtime cyclist. Bicycling described him as a husband, father of two and cycling advocate who had been riding home after grocery shopping at Wegmans in Bedford-Stuyvesant.
Friends told Gothamist that Uster encouraged them to ride. His wife, Frederique Uster-Hug, told the vigil, “Adam was a biker, true and true,” and said he had introduced her to biking in New York City.
Uster died after reaching the hospital
Gothamist reported that Uster was taken to New York-Presbyterian, where he was pronounced dead. Bicycling reported that he was rushed to New York-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital for surgery but did not survive.
Bicycling reported that the driver remained at the scene, had not been arrested as of its report and that the NYPD investigation was continuing. Both articles reported that Uster was the 13th cyclist to die in New York City traffic in 2023.
The city record cited a failure to yield
The city crash record lists failure to yield right-of-way as the contributing factor and assigns that factor to the truck driver who was making the right turn.
Bicycling quoted Transportation Alternatives Executive Director Danny Harris calling for essential biking infrastructure and passage of Sammy's Law. Gothamist reported that the vigil renewed calls for safer street infrastructure.