Driver in pickup killed e-bike rider in Cypress Hills hit-and-run
A driver in a white pickup hit 29-year-old e-bike rider Paulina Tec Choc from behind in Cypress Hills early Aug. 18 and fled north on Cypress Hills Street before she died at Brookdale, according to police accounts cited by news outlets.
Reported by press, not yet linked to NYC police crash records. This may change when new official records become available or when matching details are reviewed.
Location under review
What We Know
Police accounts cited by news outlets describe a fatal early-morning hit-and-run in Cypress Hills. Paulina Tec Choc, 29, was at Jamaica Avenue and Cypress Hills Street on Aug. 18 when a driver in a white pickup hit her from behind and fled north on Cypress Hills Street. Streetsblog and the Post, citing police, said she had been stopped at the intersection on an e-bike; the Daily News said she was riding west on Jamaica Avenue, and News12 described her as riding a two-wheeled vehicle on Cypress Hills Street. Medics took her to Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center, where she died. Streetsblog reported she was a daily e-bike commuter on her way to work, and the Daily News said police reported she was wearing a helmet.
Police accounts describe a fatal hit-and-run before dawn
News reports, citing police, place the fatal hit-and-run early Tuesday, Aug. 18, at Jamaica Avenue and Cypress Hills Street in Cypress Hills. Streetsblog reported the crash at around 5:45 a.m., while the Daily News and the Post reported about 5:50 a.m.
The accounts agree that a driver in a white pickup hit Paulina Tec Choc from behind and left the scene. Streetsblog and the Post said she was stopped at the intersection on an e-bike; the Daily News said she was riding west on Jamaica Avenue, and News12 said she was riding a two-wheeled vehicle on Cypress Hills Street.
Streetsblog and the Post, citing police, reported that after the first impact the driver in the pickup ran over Tec Choc and fled.
The crash happened at a Cypress Hills junction on her commute
The Daily News described the scene as near Cypress Hills Street on Jamaica Avenue, just outside Cypress Hills Cemetery. Streetsblog reported that Tec Choc regularly rode the street to reach her job at a nearby Sonic Drive-In.
Streetsblog reported that Cypress Hills Street has a mostly protected bike lane north of Jamaica Avenue, but the other streets that converge at the crash location do not.
Paulina Tec Choc was later identified by police
Initial reports said police were withholding the rider's identity pending family notification. Streetsblog and the Post later identified her as 29-year-old Paulina Tec Choc.
The Post described Tec Choc as a Queens woman. Streetsblog reported that her manager described her as a daily e-bike commuter, and the Daily News reported that police said she was wearing a helmet.
Reports identified a white pickup and an ongoing search
The Daily News, News12, Streetsblog and the Post all described the driver as operating a white pickup. The Post, citing police, reported that the pickup was a 2006 Ford F-250.
The Daily News said the driver was last seen heading north on Cypress Hills Street. The Post reported Wednesday that the driver had not been caught and that the NYPD Highway District's Collision Investigation Squad was investigating.
Medics took Tec Choc to Brookdale, where she died
The Daily News reported that medics rushed Tec Choc from the scene to Brookdale University Hospital. The Post said she suffered severe head and body trauma and died at Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center.