A scooter rider dies after a fall on Liberty Avenue.
A 46-year-old man riding an eastbound scooter died after a fall near Liberty Avenue and 109th Street at 9:29 p.m. on March 9, with news reports linking the fall to a pothole and the crash record listing defective pavement as a contributing factor.
Location reported in Open Data.
What We Know
Jaikarran Seenarian, 46, was riding east on a stand-up electric scooter near Liberty Avenue and 109th Street at about 9:29 p.m. on March 9, 2026. ABC7 and the Daily News reported that he hit a pothole and was thrown; the crash record lists defective pavement as a contributing factor, while NBC New York said direct pothole causation remained unclear. City crews repaired the roadway afterward.
Reports agree on a fall, but differ on what followed.
The crash record lists one person killed and places the collision at Liberty Avenue and 109th Street at 9:29 p.m. on March 9, 2026. It lists defective pavement as a contributing factor. ABC7 reported that the eastbound scooter rider hit a pothole and was thrown from the scooter; the Daily News reported that he struck his head on the pavement. NBC New York said it remained unclear whether a pothole directly caused the crash.
Reports differ on where Seenarian died. The Daily News said he died at the scene despite attempts at CPR; ABC7, Patch and QNS reported that he was taken to Jamaica Hospital and pronounced dead there.
Reports describe different points along Liberty Avenue.
The official record locates the collision at Liberty Avenue and 109th Street. The Daily News described the site beneath elevated subway tracks in Richmond Hill, while ABC7 called it Ozone Park. QNS placed the pothole in front of 109-12 Liberty Avenue; Yahoo described it as near 106th Street.
Seenarian was remembered by people in his community.
The Daily News and QNS identified the rider as Jaikarran Seenarian, 46. QNS reported that he lived on 110th Street in South Richmond Hill. Restaurant worker Orvena Persaud told the News-Tribune she had known him for several years and said, "He is a nice guy." ABC7 reported that friends and family lit candles at a memorial near the crash site.
Repairs followed the crash and a citywide campaign.
The Daily News and ABC7 reported that city crews repaired the roadway after the crash. On March 13, Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced a citywide pothole repair blitz involving more than 80 Department of Transportation crews, the Daily News reported. QNS later reported that crews repaired more than 15,000 potholes during the initiative's first two weekends.