A 58-year-old scooter driver is in critical condition in hospital and a second 60-year-old male scooter driver was also injured after a collision in the South Bronx involving two scooters and an MTA bus on the morning of Juneteenth, June 19.

An NYPD spokeswoman said the collision occurred at 10.28 a.m. when 58-year-old male scooter driver and and a 60-year-old male scooter driver were both traveling southbound on Third Avenue [between E 149th Street and Westchester Avenue]. “Both of the scooters collided with each other, and as a result, one of the scooters wound up colliding with an MTA bus,” the spokeswoman said.

“One of the operators sustained minor injuries and was treated on scene, and the second scooter operator was taken to Lincoln [Hospital] in critical condition,” she added.

Norwood News mentioned that one of the scooters at the scene looked like it had been perhaps partially burned out, and asked if the NYPD could confirm if it had caught fire. “That, I don’t know until I get the highway report,” the spokesperson said.

The FDNY later confirmed that they were alerted to a report of two “pedestrians” struck by a vehicle at 10.28 a.m. and were transported to Lincoln Hospital.

At the scene, there was evidence of uneven paving on the roadway, which may have caused the scooters to collide.

It is unknown if the scooter drivers were wearing helmets.

A police official was seen at the scene possibly investigating the road surface flatness using some type of implement. We asked the police if they could clarify what was being measured (see attached photo) and will confirm upon receipt of any further information.

Norwood News also reached out to the MTA for comment on the incident and will update this story upon receipt of any feedback.

Despite the busyness of the area, most people we spoke to said they did not actually see the accident occur.

Cabureh Musa had been manning a stand on the block where the accident took place by the subway entrance. Speaking in French, Musa said, “I arrived before 11 a.m. so I found that the accident had already taken place. I saw a lot of police but I don’t know exactly what happened.” He continued, “In front of the bus, we saw a lot of broken parts on the road but we don’t know if it belonged to the scooter or the bus or a car.” Asked if he had seen the victims, Musa said he had not.

We later spoke to Jess who had been manning another stand in front of the row of stores on the block where the accident took place and asked her if she had seen what happened. “Yeah, I saw. I was here, you know, doing my job. Heard a bang, a big bang, and I looked up and he was like getting hit by the bus. He hit the bus actually. The bus didn’t hit him,” she said, referring to one of the scooter drivers.

Asked if the motorcycle was traveling in the same direction as the bus, Jess said, “No, they were coming from the opposite direction of the box, and then he ran into the front of the bus, kind of like got caught underneath for a second. I didn’t catch it like full view but I heard it and I saw the aftermath, and then he was there unconscious,” she said, referring to one of the scooter drivers.

She added referring to both scooter drivers, “The two guys on the motorcycles, they swerved, they were like swerving, they were going a little out of control.” Jess added that after that ambulances came and the street was blocked off. Asked what happened the second driver of the scooter, she said, “He was here before. He didn’t get hit as bad. The one who didn’t get hit, he was a little out of it.”

Reflecting on the accident and the proliferation of scooters in general, Ken Fernandez who was in the area after the accident occurred told Norwood News, “I think they should stop mopeds. Any type of vehicle without plates, they should stop and get them off the street. It’s not, you know, it’s not worth it for pedestrians. It’s not worth it for people dying, right? They should stop.”

A brief video of the aftermath of the accident scene can be seen here.

For collision investigations, the NYPD handles all criminal aspects of the investigation, while NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) reviews the street design at the locations of such crashes.

As reported, a 33-year-old motorcyclist died following a road accident in Olinville in the early hours of Sunday morning, June 18.

Anyone with information regarding this latest incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/, on Twitter @NYPDTips.

All calls are strictly confidential.

admin

Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.