BMW Driver Kills Cyclist in Flatlands Hit-and-Run
Always There
Police said a BMW driver hit and killed a 40-year-old cyclist near East 54th Street and Avenue I late Thursday; friends told reporters Diallo was a delivery worker nearing the end of his shift.
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.
Approximate reported location.
What We Know
A BMW driver hit a bicyclist late Thursday at East 54th Street and Avenue I in Flatlands and left the scene, police told news outlets. Reports identified the rider as a 40-year-old Canarsie resident, with most reviewed stories spelling his name Mamadou Diallo and the Daily News using Mamadu in its headline and caption. Streetsblog and the Daily News reported that Diallo was turning onto East 54th Street as an eastbound BMW driver hit him; Gothamist reported that the BMW driver and cyclist were traveling in opposite directions on Avenue I and that the driver turned left. EMS took Diallo to Brookdale Hospital, where he died. Friends said he delivered food, supported relatives in Guinea, and was near the end of his shift.
Late-night crash in Flatlands
Police said the crash happened just before midnight Thursday, around 11:49 or 11:50 p.m., at East 54th Street and Avenue I in Flatlands. A BMW driver hit Diallo while he was riding a bicycle, and the driver left the scene.
Reports differed on the turning movement. Streetsblog and the Daily News reported that Diallo was turning onto East 54th Street as an eastbound BMW driver hit him; Gothamist reported that the BMW driver and cyclist were traveling in opposite directions on Avenue I and that the driver turned left.
Police said the impact threw Diallo from his bicycle into a parked, unoccupied car. EMS took him to Brookdale Hospital, where he died.
East 54th Street and Avenue I
News reports placed the crash at East 54th Street and Avenue I in Flatlands, Brooklyn. They described Diallo as a Canarsie resident, and a friend told News12 the crash site was about a mile from where he lived.
Diallo was remembered as a worker who supported family
Reviewed reports identified the cyclist as a 40-year-old Canarsie man. Most reports used the name Mamadou Diallo, while the Daily News used Mamadu in its headline and photo caption.
Abdoulaye Barry, identified by the Daily News and News12 as Diallo’s friend, described him as generous and hardworking. “He was always willing to help everybody,” Barry told the Daily News.
Barry said Diallo came to the United States from Guinea about three years earlier and used delivery work to support relatives back home. News12 quoted Barry saying, “I want justice for Mamadou. Everybody in Africa, his family wants justice for Mamadou.”
Police searched for the BMW driver
Descriptions of the BMW varied. Gothamist reported that police were looking for the driver of a gray BMW, while the Daily News and News12 described a dark-colored BMW sedan.
The Daily News reported that police were canvassing the area for surveillance video to learn where the driver went after the crash.
Advocates linked the death to a deadly week for cyclists
News outlets reported Diallo’s death as the third fatal cyclist hit-and-run in New York City in three days. Transportation Alternatives said it planned a die-in at City Hall Park the following Wednesday.
“Three hard-working New Yorkers are dead, and three families are heartbroken with grief,” Ben Furnas, executive director of Transportation Alternatives, said in a statement quoted by multiple outlets.