Motorcyclist dies after Grand Central Parkway crash in Astoria
Jian Trujillo, 38, died after a Feb. 1 crash on the Grand Central Parkway that the official record lists as a motorcycle-taxi collision and police described to QNS as a motorcycle rider hitting a Toyota Highlander near the 31st Street overpass.
What We Know
Jian Trujillo, a 38-year-old Corona resident, was riding a 2003 Yamaha motorcycle west on the Grand Central Parkway just before 9 a.m. on Feb. 1, 2025. Police told QNS that near the 31st Street overpass, heading toward the Triboro Bridge, he failed to navigate the roadway and hit a 2022 Toyota Highlander driven by a 27-year-old man. The official crash record lists the crash on the Grand Central Parkway at 8:50 a.m., with one motorist killed, and records the vehicles as a motorcycle and a taxi. Trujillo was taken to Harlem Hospital Center and died on Feb. 7. Police said the other driver stayed at the scene, no arrests had been made, and the investigation was ongoing.
What police said happened
Police told QNS that Jian Trujillo, 38, of LeFrak City in Corona, was riding a 2003 Yamaha motorcycle west on the Grand Central Parkway shortly before 9 a.m. on Feb. 1 when he crashed near the 31st Street overpass in Astoria.
The NYPD’s preliminary investigation found that Trujillo failed to navigate the roadway and hit a 2022 Toyota Highlander driven by a 27-year-old man, according to QNS. The official record lists the crash at 8:50 a.m. on the Grand Central Parkway and records one motorist killed.
Records differ on the other vehicle
QNS reported, citing police, that Trujillo hit a 2022 Toyota Highlander. The official crash record lists the second vehicle as a 2022 Toyota taxi, with the driver going straight ahead westbound.
The official vehicle record lists Trujillo’s motorcycle as a 2003 Yamaha traveling west, with one occupant. It records the motorcycle’s pre-crash movement as passing and lists the motorcycle driver as unlicensed in New York.
Factors recorded by investigators
The official crash record lists driver inexperience as a contributing factor. The motorcycle’s vehicle record also lists unsafe speed as a contributing factor.
QNS reported that the NYPD Collision Investigation Squad’s preliminary finding was that Trujillo failed to navigate the roadway before the impact.
Trujillo died nearly a week later
Police from the 114th Precinct responded to a 911 call and found Trujillo lying on the roadway, QNS reported. EMS took him to Harlem Hospital Center, where he was pronounced dead on Feb. 7.
QNS reported that the Highlander driver stayed at the scene. Police said no arrests had been made and the NYPD Highway District’s Collision Investigation Squad continued to investigate.
Where
Grand Central Pkwy