By Carol Tannenhauser
A man died after lying down in the street and being struck by a vehicle on Central Park West between 62nd and 63rd Streets around midnight on Sunday, April 18, according to the NYPD. The police gave the following account of the incident:
Police responded to a 911 call of a motor vehicle collision involving a pedestrian struck on Central Park West between West 62 and West 63 Streets, within the confines of the 20 Precinct. Upon arrival, officers observed an unidentified adult male pedestrian lying on the roadway, unconscious and unresponsive, with trauma about the head and body. EMS responded to the location and pronounced the aided male deceased at the scene.
Further investigation by the NYPD Highway District’s Collision Investigation Squad determined that a 1998 Lexus sedan, operated by a 28-year-old male, was traveling north bound along Central Park West, between West 62 and West 63 Streets, in the left lane of travel, when, at the same time, the pedestrian walked into the roadway from the west curb and laid down in the left travel lane. As a result, the vehicle did run over the pedestrian, dragging him north bound, along the pavement, while under the front driver’s side wheel-well for a distance, before the pedestrian was released from under the vehicle. The vehicle operator then stopped and remained at the scene until the arrival of police; the male operator was not injured. There are no arrests and the incident remains under investigation.
Please, for the love of all things Holy, seek help if you feel suicidal. Know that you are not alone. I feel bad for the deceased but worse for the driver who unwillingly was involved in what must have been a traumatic experience.
Well said, Ben.
Seeking help is easier said than done. And many times even when people do seek help they’re not given any. As for involving someone else unwillingly, people often call suicidal people who do that “selfish” but it is actually our society that is selfish for not providing a way in to die peacefully without involving others in a tragic way like this. It should be their bodies, their choice. None of this forcing people to live stuff. Mental pain is just as real as physical.
RIP.
This sounds fishy……Any witnesses?
So I live in the building right in front of where this happened, and in speaking to the doormen who were on that night, they said the deceased was drunk and laid down in the middle of the street. Unclear if he was homeless or just so drunk he didn’t realize. But just from what I was told, didn’t seem like any sort of fishyness, just a drunk guy laying down in the street, wrong place wrong time, sadly.
Yeah I was the one who called 911, we were right behind the lexus, It was a pretty horific scene. The second time the police called me back for more information the detective told me he was watching it from a camera it was caught on, and I know he was telling the truth because he was able to identify the car I was in. When I saw it go down I couldn’t really tell what happened but the article atleast makes sense with what I saw. RIP to this man. If you are feeling suicidal please get some help.
So sorry you had to witness this Ethan. What a tragic experience. Best wishes for you and your girlfriend to heal.
RIP to the man that died.
more imaginative than fishy…I’m sure the conclusion was reached with the help of the many cameras surveying every inch of manhattan.
How tragic. Although I can’t help but wonder if NYPDs “Combat Parking” through that entire section (including in clearly marked crosswalks) didn’t have some role in reduced visibility. Perhaps the driver could’ve had a split second to hit the brakes.
Quite right. We need to find someone to blame for this, and punish them severely. Justice must be served.
How did they determine the individual lied down? Did anyone actually witness this, or are we relying on the driver’s testimony?
There were cameras
Yes thank you for pointing this out!!
I want to start off by saying that this was really traumatizing for me and my girlfriend that was with me. We were right behind the car that hit them and I was the one who called 911 at 11:52 PM. The article lines up up with what I saw. I don’t think it was on purpose, it was really dark out – it was probably really hard to see him. Im not even from NY and this was the first time I’ve ever been there so this was quite the day ruiner. My thought go out to his family and if you ever feel like you or somebody you know is going to comit suicide please get some help, it can always get better.
Ethan what a horrendous welcome to a beautiful part of NY in a beautiful season. So sorry to you and your girlfriend. Thank you for calling 911, and for your clarifications and comments. This trauma touched many strangers. Sadly NYC can show you some of the saddest and most desperate sides of humanity as well as some of the most amazing and wonderful.
Suicide by vehicle… there has been many suicides in Manhattan this past year, very sad.
I hope we can learn the story behind this. If it turns out to have been one of the many unfortunate and sad mentally ill drug-addled men wandering our neighborhood, maybe this will inspire our city to try mandating mental health treatment on an inpatient basis.
How can one stop motorized bikes, skateboards and
Vespas out of riverside drive park
AND
Forbid motorized vehicles from going in bike lanes, going in the opposite direction in said lanes. Motorized vehicles should be in the car lanes with other vehicles going upto 30 mph. ( remember the speed limit in this city is UNDER 30 mph)
I agree that Law Enforcement in general have their biases and their assumptions are not always accurate nor their reporting always truthful. My understanding is that the 20th and 24th are on the progressive side of all the NYPD precincts and they are equitable (responsive to community needs) in giving out tickets to cyclists and motorists alike?
There was no mention of a 2 wheeled vehicle involved or even anywhere nearby when this tragic killing happened. Do you have some different knowledge of what actually happened here?