Teen E-Bike Rider Killed as Box-Truck Driver Turned in Brooklyn
On Aug. 19, 2024, at Ditmas and Coney Island avenues, a 48-year-old driver was turning a box truck when a 16-year-old riding an e-bike with two teens was fatally injured, according to the crash record and police accounts reported by local news.
What We Know
At 1:54 p.m. on Aug. 19, 2024, a crash involving a box truck driver and three teens on an e-bike killed a 16-year-old rider at Ditmas and Coney Island avenues in Brooklyn. Police accounts reported by Gothamist and amNY described a 48-year-old driver in a 2017 Hino box truck making a right turn, while the teens were on an e-bike nearby. News reports differed on the precise sequence, including whether the rider tried to pass, lost control, or was struck during the turn. A 15-year-old passenger was hospitalized in stable condition, and another 16-year-old was treated at the scene. The driver remained at the scene, and news outlets reported no arrest. Sources also differed on the teen’s name, identifying him as Juraed Umedjon or Umedjon Juraev.
A right turn and conflicting accounts of the final seconds
The crash record places the collision at 1:54 p.m. on Aug. 19, 2024, at Ditmas Avenue and Coney Island Avenue, involving a box truck driver and an e-bike rider. It records one cyclist killed and one cyclist injured.
Police accounts reported by Gothamist and amNY said a 48-year-old driver was turning a 2017 Hino box truck onto southbound Coney Island Avenue as three teens were on an e-bike nearby. The reports differ on the sequence: Gothamist said the teens tried to pass alongside the truck and lost control, while amNY said the rider struck a traffic cone before ending up under the rear passenger tires. News12 reported that surveillance video showed the rider and the driver in the box truck coming together while turning right.
The teen was remembered by classmates and friends
The crash record identifies the person killed as a 16-year-old male bicyclist. Gothamist and amNY identified him as Juraed Umedjon; News12 identified him as Umedjon Juraev.
News12 reported that family and friends gathered at a mosque on Ocean Parkway after the crash. Friends described the teen as a rising junior at John Dewey High School who loved soccer and video games, and one friend called him the "silly one" who made classmates laugh.
Police accounts reported by local news said a 15-year-old passenger was taken to Maimonides Medical Center in stable condition, while another 16-year-old passenger was treated at the scene for minor injuries.
The driver stayed at the scene
The crash record lists a 2017 Hino box truck and a Hurley e-bike, with both operators recorded as making right turns before the crash. Police accounts in Gothamist and amNY described the truck driver as a 48-year-old man.
The New York Post, Gothamist, amNY and News12 each reported that the driver remained at the scene. News reports said no arrest had been made; amNY reported that police did not suspect criminality at the time.
Coney Island Avenue had already drawn safety warnings
The crash happened where Ditmas Avenue meets Coney Island Avenue in Kensington. Gothamist described the location as a busy thoroughfare that transit advocates said lacked a dedicated bike lane.
amNY described Coney Island Avenue as a deadly Brooklyn corridor and reported that, since 2011, the road had been the site of 15 deaths and nearly 2,800 injuries in crashes along its stretch from Prospect Park to Coney Island.
Advocates placed the death in a wider child-safety crisis
Gothamist reported that the teen was the 12th minor killed in New York City traffic in 2024, a toll that Transportation Alternatives said already exceeded most recent annual totals. amNY, citing the same advocacy group, reported that he was also the 15th cyclist killed that year.
Elizabeth Adams of Transportation Alternatives told Gothamist, "Our leaders cannot pretend to care about the children of our city and still do nothing when they’re killed over and over again."