BROOKLYN — A cyclist was killed when an SUV hit him as he rode across Atlantic Avenue against a red light Tuesday afternoon, police said.
The 47-year-old cyclist, whose name wasn't immediately released, was riding north on Rochester Avenue and had just reached Atlantic Avenue about 5:49 p.m. when the westbound Nissan SUV hit him, NYPD officials said.
Police said the cyclist disobeyed a steady red light, but didn't specify how they knew that. A spokesman said Wednesday it was the result of a preliminary investigation into the incident, which took place near the border of Crown Heights and Bedford-Stuyvesant.
The cyclist was pronounced dead at Kings County Hospital, police said.
The SUV driver, a 19-year old woman, stayed at the scene and wasn't immediately arrested or ticketed, police said.
The cyclist is the latest in a rising number of bike deaths around the city.
By the end of June, nine cyclists had already been killed in 2017, city statistics show.
The year-end death toll has been climbing every year since 2013, which saw 12 cyclist deaths, data shows. In 2016, 18 cycylists died in New York City.
City officials however pointed out that the death toll has remained relatively steady since 2000 and that given the surge of ridership over that same span, the rate of cyclist deaths has actually dropped.
