Cyclist Killed After Driver Opens Door on Broadway
At 7:52 a.m. on Feb. 27, 2024, at Broadway and Lorimer Street, a person opened a parked Honda's door and a Hyundai driver then hit John Paolicelli, 64, killing him, police and city records show.
What We Know
John Paolicelli, 64, was riding east on Broadway near Lorimer Street on the morning of Feb. 27, 2024, when a person opened the door of a parked Honda and he was thrown into the next lane, according to police accounts cited by local outlets. A Hyundai driver then hit him, and emergency responders found him pinned beneath the car. He was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where he died. City crash data recorded one cyclist killed, no other injuries, two sedans and an e-bike, with driver inattention or distraction listed for the parked Honda.
A door opened into an eastbound rider's path
Police accounts cited by local outlets said John Paolicelli was riding east on Broadway near Lorimer Street just before 8 a.m. when a person opened the door of a parked car. He collided with the door and was sent into another lane, where a Hyundai driver hit him.
Emergency responders moved the car and found Paolicelli unconscious with head trauma. He was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where he died.
John Paolicelli was the rider killed
The official record lists the person killed as a 64-year-old male bicyclist riding an e-bike. The New York Post identified him as John Paolicelli and reported that he lived on the Upper East Side.
City records list two sedans and an e-bike
The official crash record lists a 2019 Honda sedan parked eastbound on Broadway, a 2022 Hyundai sedan traveling east, and Paolicelli's eastbound e-bike. News accounts identified the Hyundai as an Elantra and the Honda as an Accord.
The official factor points to the parked Honda driver
City data lists driver inattention or distraction as the contributing factor for the parked 2019 Honda. The Brooklyn Paper reported that police said someone opened a car door near Lorimer Street before Paolicelli was thrown into the Hyundai driver's path.
Drivers stayed, and officials called for safety action
Police told reporters that the drivers involved in Paolicelli's crash remained at the scene, and outlets reported that no arrests had been made at the time of publication.
Council Member Lincoln Restler said students from I.S. 318, less than a block from the crash site, witnessed the incident. He asked the Department of Transportation for an immediate safety review of the intersection and asked the NYPD to assign a crossing guard to the school for the foreseeable future.
Broadway has a long crash record in Brooklyn
The crash happened at Broadway and Lorimer Street in Williamsburg. CrashCountNYC's Broadway, Brooklyn street context recorded 1,689 crashes, 923 injuries, 56 serious injuries and 7 deaths from the start of 2022 through June 1, 2026.