E-bike rider dies after crash on Rogers Avenue
A 37-year-old e-bike rider identified in press reports as comedian Kenny DeForest died at Kings County Hospital after a Dec. 8 morning crash on Rogers Avenue in Brooklyn.
What We Know
On the morning of Dec. 8, a 37-year-old man riding an e-bike was involved in a fatal crash on Rogers Avenue in Brooklyn. The city crash record listed him as the only person hurt and recorded pavement defect and driver inexperience as contributing factors. News accounts identified the rider as Kenny DeForest, a stand-up comedian, and reported that he was taken to Kings County Hospital, underwent surgery for brain bleeding, and died Dec. 13. Accounts differed on whether another vehicle was involved: the New York Post, citing police, reported he hit an unoccupied car, while Yahoo and the Guardian reported that friends later believed no other vehicle was involved after reviewing EMS information and speaking with crossing guards.
Reports disagreed on the nearest cross street
The official record locates the crash on Rogers Avenue in Brooklyn. The New York Post described the site as Rogers Avenue and Saint Marks Avenue in Crown Heights, while Yahoo and the Guardian described it as Rogers Avenue and Sterling Place.
Press reports identified the rider as Kenny DeForest
News accounts identified the rider as Kenny DeForest, 37, a stand-up comedian who had appeared on late-night and comedy programs including Late Night With Seth Meyers, The Late Late Show with James Corden, and Comedy Central’s Tales From The Trip.
Friends reported that DeForest was taken to Kings County Hospital, underwent surgery to relieve pressure from a brain bleed, and died there on Dec. 13. Ryan Beck wrote that DeForest died surrounded by his parents, family, and friends.
Records and accounts pointed to different crash details
The city record listed pavement defective as a contributing factor for the crash, and the vehicle entry also listed driver inexperience. The New York Post, citing police, reported that DeForest hit an unoccupied car. Yahoo and the Guardian later reported that friends, after reviewing EMS information and speaking with crossing guards, believed it was not a hit-and-run and that no other vehicle was involved.
No charges were reported in the reviewed accounts
The New York Post reported that police said no criminality was suspected and that the investigation was continuing. Yahoo and the Guardian reported that NYPD apparently was not called to the scene after friends later learned more from EMS information.