NYC Transit Safety Advocate hit by car on way to victims’ vigil

A traffic safety activist ended up in a Brooklyn emergency room over the weekend when he was hit by a car – while riding his bike to an event commemorating victims of traffic violence.

The victim, an employee of the Transportation Alternatives advocacy group, was struck by a car on Rochester Avenue, just a block from where the group was preparing to begin their annual “World Road Traffic Remembrance Day” vigil, Gothamist reported .

“This is the real life that every New Yorker experiences,” said the group’s director, Danny Harris, at the start of the event, according to the report.

“There he was on his way to an event to celebrate and honor those who were killed and injured in traffic violence and now he’s sitting in the emergency room,” Harris said of the unidentified victim.

The man was recovering from minor injuries at home Monday, a spokesman for the group said.

World Remembrance Day is an annual vigil for families who have lost a loved one to road traffic violence. They wear yellow and call for policy changes to make streets safer for pedestrians and cyclists.

According to NYPD statistics compiled by the Big Apple, 222 people have died in auto accidents in New York City so far this year — surpassing the total number of traffic deaths for any year from 2015 through 2020.

This year’s victims include 98 pedestrians, 14 cyclists, 34 drivers, 56 motor vehicle occupants and 20 people in “other motorized vehicles,” city officials said.

In 2021, 113 pedestrians were killed in accidents, along with 18 cyclists, 34 motorists, 52 motor vehicle occupants and 13 people in “other motorized vehicles”.

“Thank you for the overwhelming support for our employee who was injured yesterday while en route to World Memorial,” Transportation Alternatives posted on its Twitter page Monday.

“Our city leaders must do everything in their power to ensure the safety of people on our streets – whether they are going to work, school or to an event to honor those injured or lost loved ones to road violence. “