Driver left after firefighter fell on FDR Drive
Police said a driver left the FDR Drive scene after 31-year-old FDNY firefighter Matthew Goicochea fell from his motorcycle and was fatally struck at about 3:48 a.m. on July 24, 2025.
What We Know
Matthew Goicochea, a 31-year-old FDNY firefighter, died after an early-morning crash on the FDR Drive on July 24, 2025. The official crash record lists the crash at 3:48 a.m. on the FDR Drive and records one motorist killed. Police told news outlets Goicochea was riding north near East 25th Street when he fell from a 2023 Yamaha motorcycle; a driver in another vehicle then struck him and did not stay at the scene. The official record lists driver inattention or distraction as a contributing factor. News accounts differed on whether Goicochea was pronounced dead at the scene or at Bellevue Hospital. Police said the Highway Collision Investigation Squad was investigating, and outlets reported no arrests at the time.
Police described a fall, then a driver leaving
The official crash record places the fatal crash on the FDR Drive at 3:48 a.m. and records one motorist killed. News outlets, citing police, reported that Matthew Goicochea was riding north near East 25th Street when he fell from his motorcycle and was then struck by a driver who did not remain at the scene.
Accounts did not fully match on the medical aftermath. ABC7 reported that Goicochea was pronounced dead at the scene, while Patch, Gothamist, West Side Spirit and the New York Post reported that he was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where he was pronounced dead or later died.
The crash was reported on the northbound FDR Drive
The official record lists the crash on the FDR Drive in Manhattan. Police accounts in the news placed it on the northbound side near East 25th Street; Patch described the location as near 23rd Street, while ABC7 described it as near West 25th Street.
Matthew Goicochea was an FDNY firefighter
Goicochea was 31. The FDNY confirmed his death and said he joined the department in September 2022. West Side Spirit reported that he was a Bronx resident stationed at Ladder 41 in the Bronx.
Several outlets noted that Goicochea received the Thomas Wylie Medal in 2024 for rescuing an unconscious person from a Bronx fire. West Side Spirit, citing an FDNY account, reported that he helped remove a person entangled in a wheelchair as conditions worsened inside the apartment.
The official record lists a 2023 Yamaha motorcycle
The city crash record identifies Goicochea as the driver of a northbound 2023 Yamaha motorcycle with one occupant. Gothamist, West Side Spirit and the New York Post also described the motorcycle as a 2023 Yamaha or Yamaha motorcycle.
The official record also includes a second northbound entry with no occupants. Police accounts in the articles described the other driver as leaving after Goicochea was struck.
Investigators cited inattention in the city record
The official crash record lists driver inattention or distraction as a contributing factor. Police accounts reported by news outlets said Goicochea failed to navigate the roadway or lost control before he fell from the motorcycle, and that the driver who struck him did not stay.
The investigation remained open in early reports
Gothamist and West Side Spirit reported that the NYPD Highway Collision Investigation Squad was investigating. Patch, Gothamist and West Side Spirit reported that no arrests had been made at the time of publication.