Rider died after Ashland Place collision with ambulance driver
A 65-year-old motorcycle rider was killed at 1:09 a.m. on Ashland Place after he and a 21-year-old NYU Langone ambulance driver collided near Willoughby Street, according to official and police accounts.
What We Know
A 65-year-old rider was killed early Sunday on Ashland Place near Willoughby Street after he and a 21-year-old NYU Langone ambulance driver collided. The official record lists a motorcycle going south and a Ford ambulance going north at 1:09 a.m., with driver inattention or distraction recorded as a contributing factor for the motorcycle. Reviewed accounts disagree on some details: the Daily News named the rider Lynwood Wilkerson and described the ride as an e-bike, while Streetsblog reported the name as Ray Wilkerson-Lynwood and said city officials later confirmed the vehicle was a motorcycle. Press accounts said the ambulance crew was looking for or responding to a call about a man in distress.
Early-morning crash near Willoughby Street
The city crash record places the collision on Ashland Place at 1:09 a.m. on February 1, 2026, and records one person killed. The record lists a motorcycle traveling south and a Ford ambulance traveling north; the motorcycle had one occupant, and the ambulance had three occupants.
The Daily News reported that the ambulance crew was searching the area for a man in distress, while NYU Langone said in a statement that the crew was responding to a call and stopped to render care until other first responders arrived.
The rider was identified differently in reviewed accounts
The official record identifies the person killed as a 65-year-old male motorcycle driver. The Daily News named him Lynwood Wilkerson; Streetsblog reported the name as Ray Wilkerson-Lynwood and said he lived at the nearby Farragut Houses.
Calvin Wilkerson, identified by the Daily News as the rider’s nephew, said his uncle had been visiting and was on his way home. "We’re literally not even four blocks away from where it happened. Just four blocks," he told the paper.
Press accounts identified the ambulance driver as a 21-year-old woman and said two other crew members, a 29-year-old woman and a 28-year-old man, were also aboard.
Sources differed on whether the rider was on an e-bike or motorcycle
The official record lists the rider’s vehicle as a FLY motorcycle. The Daily News described the rider as an e-bike rider, but Streetsblog reported that a Sanitation Department supervisor said it was a motorcycle and that the city Department of Transportation later confirmed it was a motorcycle.
Ashland Place is a constrained crossing by Downtown Brooklyn institutions
The crash happened on Ashland Place near Willoughby Street in Brooklyn. The Daily News placed it in Fort Greene, while Streetsblog described the intersection as near Brooklyn Hospital in Downtown Brooklyn.
Streetsblog reported that snow mounds had narrowed Ashland Place and made the bike lane only partly usable, and described the Willoughby Street crossing as chaotic with heavy car traffic. The outlet also reported 11 crashes at that intersection in 2025, with injuries to cyclists, a pedestrian and motorists.
Police and city data pointed to rider movement and distraction
The official record lists driver inattention or distraction as a contributing factor for the motorcycle. Streetsblog reported that police said the rider crossed over the double-yellow line in the roadway before the collision.
Reports diverged on injuries to the ambulance crew
The city crash record recorded no injuries in addition to the rider’s death. The Daily News said the ambulance driver and two crew members were hospitalized; Streetsblog said they were lightly injured; NYU Langone said its crew suffered no injuries and was not cited at the scene.
Medics took the rider to Methodist Hospital, where he died, according to the Daily News and Streetsblog.