By West Side Rag
A woman was rushed to the hospital on Tuesday after being struck by an electric bike in Central Park, police said.
The woman was jogging around 4:30 p.m. along West Drive near West 64th Street, when she was struck by the vehicle, police said.
People passing by rushed to help the woman until an ambulance arrived, according to an eyewitness and photos.
The woman suffered unspecified injuries, but police did say she was alert, conscious, and stable when she was taken to the hospital.
“There was a terrible accident around 4:30 today involving an e-bike slamming into a pedestrian at 64th Street on the West Drive,” Eve Gittelson, who witnessed the collision, wrote to West Side Rag. “The woman had a severe head injury, ambulance took her to Mt. Sinai West. I think we need a full stop at 64th Street and the crossing directly south of Tavern on the Green.”
Police said there were no arrests connected to the incident as of 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday. NYPD also did not specify if the electric bike rider stayed at the scene, but an eyewitness said the driver did.
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Did the cyclist stay at the scene?
The last sentence of the article answers your question.
If they stayed, they are in the less than 10% who do! 128 victims jn EVSA and in only SIX cases, the e vehicle rider stayed at scene! FACT. http://www.nycevsa.org
Did the Central Park Consevancy immediately issue a press release calling for the banning of ebikes in the park?
Of course not. They only care about DONORS. Big real estate donors to CP Conservancy want the building the horse stables are in. And the BIKE LOBBY is powerful. These accidents are soooo common in C Park! This one just happened to make the news! http://www.nycevsa.org
Are these incidents ‘soooo common’? Or is this co-founder of the EVSA just highly motivated to highlight them?
This accident is of course unfortunate and some cyclists should be more careful. But 128 people injured (over how many years btw?) is just not statistically a huge number in a city as big as NYC where for comparison over 200 people were killed by drivers just last year.
Why conflate Car driving and bike driving. It’s not car vs. bikes, its pedestrians vs.bikes
Yoy are using the wrong statistic. The issue we are discussing is eBikes in Central Park. There were no pedestrians killed or injured by cars in Central Park last year because cars aren’t allowed in the park. If eBikes were banned from CP the statistic for eBike deaths and injuries would also fall to 0.
UWS Dad-Since you’re so sure that hardly anyone is injured by e-bikes even though there are so many witnessed by those in the park who record them on their phones and send them to organizations concerned with safety-why don’t you make an appointment with an ER doctor say at Mt. Sinai and listen to what they deal with every single day in the trauma unit. Your bias is showing!
As someone who has been hit by hit and run cyclists and moped drivers, and feels like riding a bike in Riverside park is taking your life into your hands because of all the motorized bikes in the park ignoring regulations and signage, you bet accidents are common. They just don’t get reported, even if you try I couldn’t get my case number from the police when I was hit. I appreciate people like Janet Schroeder who are trying to raise awareness about this issue and get laws to respond to the reality on the streets.
Statistically? You’re talking about statistics? What is your point? People are regularly harmed and often die from accidents with ebikes. What if one of them was your friend or relative??
Of course the statistics are relevant! There is no such thing as risk-free mode of transportation & incentivizing relatively less dangerous modes saves lives. The question is whether these incidents are actually common as Janet claims and what is the intensity of harm that occurs.
The problem is this: The “statistics” aren’t reliable because the majority of injuries from bkes & ebikes do not get reported.
This has been established repeatedly, e.g.
https://www.ourtownny.com/news/as-bike-traffic-soars-so-do-pedestrian-injuries-but-who-s-counting-HF4689933
This follows logically. With cars thre’s insurance, and recourse. You report. And in many cases, there’s lies and exaggeration, e.g.
https://nypost.com/2026/04/08/us-news/nyc-lawyer-ran-massive-insurance-fraud-ring-staging-car-accidents-to-drive-up-payouts-suit/
With bikes? Unless you’re mowed down by a tech bro? You’re prety munc on your own.
In what world is going against a union-backed org a good real estate investment strategy? Does that seem like a productive use of capital? Maybe it does in a world where it’s okay that horses routinely die on the pavement of a major metropolitan city.
Of course not!! CPC is getting too much money from food delivery corporations, Amazon, Lyft who owns Citibike, Trans Alt. At least WSR Is covering it today. They mainly don’t. But good on them.
Do you have any source for that claim? I checked their most recent annual report and found no mention of food delivery corporations, but lots of PE shops and hedge funds… Do you really believe Uber pays CPC execs under the table so their delivery workers (whose well-being they famously care deeply about) can shave a few minutes off their deliveries?
Oh and guess hedge funds don’t invest in food delivery companies. Newsflash-the guy who is the money behind Transportation Alternatives , the monied bike lobby is what you call a hedge fund guy. No one said they were being paid under the table. They have huge money to operate with. But you suppose none of it is from corporations who benefit from e-bikes.
And there are many other ways than paper bags full of twenties to compensate people for their support be it tacit or otherwise. Betsy Smith, the CEO of the Central Park Conservancy makes a million bucks a year—-way high for a non-profit. To put that in perspective, our mayor makes 260 K a year. So I’d say Betsy isn’t being paid all of that money just for her horticultural skills—if you catch my meaning.
Betsy Smith runs the park more than 4 times better than the mayor runs the city…
You are 100% correct Marco
“NYPD also did not specify if the electric bike rider stayed at the scene, but an eyewitness said the driver did.”
Always helpful to read the full article before posting questions.
Good if they stayed. Also RARE. E bikes arent bicycles. They dont belong in Central Park or NYC parks. They ate heavy, brake more slowly, speed, never stop at lights and are often ridden on auto pilot
Went running last week. Bikes were constantly entering the runners’ lane and running red lights when pedestrians were trying to cross. No enforcement whatsoever. How much longer can we keep doing the same thing and expect a different outcome?
I agree that many bicycles breeze through a red light, but almost just as many people cross when they don’t have the walk sign. It’s very chaotic, in my opinion.
This accident occurred in Centeal Park where the redesign removed almost all traffic lights. The victim in this story could not have been crossing against the light because there is no stop light where this occurred. Pedestrians wishing to cross are supposed to just step into the road and hope the bikes swerve or stop.
Those bikes stop for NOTHING! Riverside Blvd needs much more than stop sign enforcement – cars blow through, bikes never stop. The 20th precinct has been told over and over and they come out about every 3 months for a few hours. They have no workable solution. I’ve told them put in speed bumps and all they say is call the DOT.
Central Park – between this and the horse carriages, I won’t go in the park.
Riverside walker.
There are no more red lights. The lights have been taken down. It’s the wild west out there.
There are still a few red lights. Doesn’t matter tho, they don’t stop. Bike culture in this city has hit a low. If you call out someone on r/NYCBike on Reddit for riding without regard to safety, you’re the one in the wrong. I ride in NYC every other day and it’s insane. I am a cyclist who hates cyclists. They’re all in a Tour de France fantasy. Pathetic.
I run in Central Park 4-5 days per week. I usually enter the park at 86th by the southwest end of the Reservoir where there is a crosswalk. Last week, a small truck was on the drive and stopped at the crosswalk to let me and a handful of other pedestrians cross. Common sense would suggest that other vehicles such as bikes would stop or at least slow down if there is a stopped vehicle at the crosswalk ahead but…no. 4 or 5 cyclists blew right around the truck and through the crosswalk. If I and the other pedestrians had started to cross, we would have been hit.
I’m very pro-bike lanes and in favor of improving the infrastructure for biking in NYC despite not riding a bike myself. But you hit the nail on the head: the bike culture can be awful. (As can some runners, to be fair!)
That’s fair, in my experience in CP/Riverside cyclists usually yield or if you are crossing in a predictable pace its easy for them to go around you but obviously no one (cyclist or otherwise) should be a jerk!
I asked a Tour de France guy who cut me off as I was walking while he was ascending the sidewalk (97th St) why he was riding on the sidewalk. And he rode into literally hordes of pedestrians and gave me the finger! Without turning around!! I am furious that this behavior which is now frequent. I have NEVER seen the police stop anyone on the sidewalk, in the street, anywhere! I’m out everyday in dangerous situations often. The park is no longer safe and all of this is going on while this city and state ignores it!! The first lawsuit has been filed against the city. There will be more! Seems NJ could do what NY can’t! Side on the safety of their citizens.
Post photos on Nextdoor. Neighbors helping neighbors.
I am not responding to your situation specifically, but I have witnessed a lot of people who berated cyclists for behavior where the pedestrian doing the berating was the one in the wrong. I have heard people complain a cyclist almost hit them when the cyclist was 1.5 lanes away which
means they were about 15 feet away from each other. My absolute favorite, though, are the I multiple times pedestrians have yelled at me while I was biking for running a red light when I WAS THE ONE WITH THE GREEN LIGHT. Many pedestrians will jaywalk because they don’t hear any cars coming and don’t bother to look up from their phones to actually see the signal or if there is actually any oncoming traffic. But there have been at least 4 times in 2026 alone where a pedestrian accused me of running a red light when my light was green and they had a don’t walk signal. So anecdotal discussions of people almost getting hit by bikes need to be taken with the same grain of salt that as those who say cyclists are not problems at all. Because yes, cyclists can show bad and even dangerous behaviors. But this is why statistics are actually the best way to make rational arguments.
As long as our electeds are “influenced” by TransAlt.
I’m confused. At first I thought the woman was jogging along the drive in the pedestrian lane but Eve Gittelson’s.comment that a full stop is needed sounds more like she was crossing the drive. If you could get more details that might help the next 100 comments about e-bikes being a menace vs. “they always stop for me” comments.
What’s the difference? The fact is, she was hit by an electrified biker who did not have the control of his vehicle and/or the decency to slow down and let her pass. Her location in this fiasco is irrelevant.
It matters for a number of reasons. The people who say the redesign is sager for pedestrians often talk about the shorter crossing distance — from curb to pedestrian lanes vs curb to curb. If ebikes are hitting peoole in pedestrian lanes this is untrue. It is also possible that the jogger was crossing the drive and stepped off the cutb directly in front of the ebike so that they didn’t have time to stop.
That’s right: blame the victim when you don’t know the facts and are dealing with possibility.
How am I blaming the victim? I am asking for more details about what happened.
That’s a very good point. When I am in the park as a cyclist or pedestrian, often runners just make a right to cross the road without looking. It is especially noticeable on the south end of the park . Five years ago a runner did that, knocked a cyclist off their bike and she got a TBI. She hung I there for five years… just a shadow of her old self and then passed. Collectively we have to take responsibility to make positive change.
A neighborhood acquaintance was hit in Central Park by a guy on Citibike.
She said he stopped momentarily – then left.
She was taken by ambulance to the hospital. N
No NYPD came to the scene.
She has needed multiple surgeries.
Outrageous and unforgivable. What is wrong with people?!?
Pretty typical. NYCEVSA (.org) has well over 100 victims, 95% of which have no police report and are not reported in NYC stats. This is the sad norm.
Any update on what the NYPD is doing to enforce drunk driving laws after the two deaths earlier this year? The 24th Precinct has only made 10 DWI arrests all year.
https://www.nyc.gov/assets/nypd/downloads/pdf/traffic_data/traffic-statistics/ts-en-us-024.pdf
Standard biker deflection.
Really disappointed in you. You want a real discussion and yet you revert to the “what about cars” deflection. Sure drunk driving is terrible. Ebike drivers who disobey traffic rules and hit pedestrians are also bad. Both things are bad and enforcement shouldn’t be either or or neither.
We’ve only made 10 drunk driving arrests all year. It’s July. Do you think that we’ve caught every drunk driver? If not, is there really nothing at all we can do? Checkpoints, cops outside bars, better training to identify erratic drivers, etc. If we aren’t doing those things, is it because we don’t have the resources or we don’t care? If we don’t have the resources, where are we going to get resources for e-bike enforcement? If we don’t care, why do we care more about e-bikes than drunk drivers? You say it shouldn’t be either or, but I would love to hear the specific plan to address both. Reckless cars and bikes are both bad but one kills a lot more people.
Yes, this kind of argument is often called “you’re another”. It is a way to avoid addressing your opponent’s position.
These biker bro guys act like they’re in a cult. As if an e-bike rider couldn’t be DWI!!! Hey why not-they have zero accountability. The only thing not regulated in this city are e-bikes and scooters.
If the NYPD can’t enforce drunk driving laws, how are they going to enforce e-bike laws?
You are right. The obvious solution is to ban a bikes in the city. The police could confiscate any they see. This would discourage others from bring more in.
Is it ok for an ebike rider in Central Park to put a pedestrian in the hospital because a drunken criminal killed two people on Amsterdam Avenue?
That one was extensively covered, by the way, and for days. And? nobody made any excuses for the driver or engaged in whataboutism.
It was covered for days. What was done about it?
Police arrested Elvin Suarez, charging him with two counts of manslaughter, three counts of vehicular manslaughter, two counts of vehicular assault and DWI.
The driver has been charged with manslaughter and it hasn’t happened since.
On my ride today, I saw an unconscious woman sprawled out on the east loop in Central Park around 2:40 today, surrounded by bikes.
By your standard it’s obvious that nothing is being done about yesterday’s crash.
Thanks for this link. Now we can look next week to see if this accident makes it to their stats.
Are you implying the e-bike riderr was drunk? I guess that’s possible, especially if they didn’t stay at the scene we’d have no way of knowing.
For God’s sake, it’s apparent to everyone that electric bikes don’t belong in the park! The park is for pedestrians – we shouldn’t have to keep our heads on a swivel!
Horrible. A full stop at 64th St will accompllish little, because most E bikers and other bikers will just ride through it at full speed. What we need is registration, licensing, insurance — just the things the TransAlt-affiliated companies oppose. Door Dash etc are opposed to regulation of E bikes.
Very simple, speed bumps everywhere. In the park, on Amsterdam/Columbus, especially on Riverside, etc. Force the E-bikes (a/k/a electrical motorcycles) and the Spandex Monsters to slow down. We have speed cameras for cars, why not everyone else?
Terrific idea especially given the constant comparison to cars. Speed bumps. Love it.
Honestly , I think you mean speed humps. They are 2 different things.
Speed cameras would only work if the bikes had license plates. NJ is doing this. don’t understand why we can’t. Yes, there would be a cost for the individual and for the city
At the current rate of bike law-breaking, bike licenses and proper enforcement could be a huge revenue source for the city.
What’s needed in the Park, IMO, is a ban, that is enforced, on all electric bikes, scooters, mopeds, etc., and riding road bikes clipped in. There are too many pedestrians, and people will keep getting hurt. I would not recommend red lights at the crossings because people assume it’s safe to cross when it is not, and there’s always the risk of crossing at a yellow. The flashing yellows that came into being about a year ago are much safer in that pedestrians are much more inclined to look before they cross and to make sure it’s clear.
How about we ban all civilian motorized vehicles from the park, the same way the city banned automobiles? It would make the park safer, quieter, and more enjoyable for everyone, while still allowing exceptions for emergency, maintenance, and accessibility vehicles.
Signed,
An UWS resident who commutes to and from Queens every day
I hope the victim makes a full recovery and that the criminal is caught and punished. I will also say that the answer is not in more red lights or bans. The problem, after non-enforcement, is that many people just don’t give a F%#$. I use the park almost every day, on bike, on foot, on scooter, on e-scooter. I use the drive. Most of the dangerous riders are young guys, often on Citibike’s, riding no hands with their eyes looking down at their phones, going against the traffic. Sometimes I’ll see a gang of kids on regular bikes going the wrong way and doing wheelies. And then there’s there are the guys on gas powered dirtbikes and mopeds. Yes, all of these happen often! They expect others to avoid them. These punks know that even if they cause an accident, there is little downside (like the two thugs who stabbed a Good Samaritan, and then were released on their own recognizance).
It is a very sad, unfair and yet concrete reality that we pedestrians are the most vulnerable, and that all we can do on the daily, is to be vigilant and hope for the best. Good luck to us all!
What is it exactly that makes the bike operator a criminal? I always get a kick out of people who generalize and don’t seem to care about the details of the incident, or even to find out what they are.
Leaving the scene of an accident is a crime.
I walked past the accident after the fact. It looked like the bike rider was still on scene. There were police present as well.
My friend who lives in Connecticut says that the state banned e-bikes on all roads. I guess that’s not possible in New York City, but I wish that e-bikes were subject to the same legal strictures and responsibilities as cars (and yes, that includes licensing so we can identify those who are accused of irresponsible conduct). Maybe even some kind of RFID tag so that even if you can’t see the license, police will be able to know who is the owner of the bike.
Well then, the least we can do is have a campaign to warn tourists to avoid walking in our parks.
We don’t worry that much about cars anymore. We all worry about ebikes. You have a mayor that doesn’t care. You have no enforcement. Not going to get any better. This born and bred New Yorker is moving out this Fall. Good riddance
Mayor Mamdani? What will he do about it? Perhaps he should take the menace of e-bikes as seriously as he does promoting the DSA’s world view.
How about we come up with good ideas that help the majority of people but then post them to a comments section where nearly no one will read them let alone have a demonstrable effect on policy change?
Thank you WSR for reporting this accident in the park. They happen almost everyday. But no one but a few safety groups have been noting them at all. That creates a peculiar news blackout and feeling of false safety in the park. Where every time a carriage horse bolts or worse its covered in every major paper. Even though these accidents are very infrequent. But e-bike accidents with other bikers or pedestrians happen with great frequency. The injuries are largely very bad-and they rarely get reported.
Seems like someone wants it that way! So bravo WSR for the reporting and hoping there will be follow up too.
‘happen almost every day… with great frequency…’
Citation needed.
I think you’re on a bike everyday. For a walker, the stress of crossing the roads in Central Park make the park less of a sanctuary and more of a racetrack. It’s sad.
No citation is needed. What is needed is zero tolerance for smarmy sociopathic knee jerk defense of the indefensible actions of selfish entitled e-bike riders who couldn’t care less whether the rest of us live or die. I have grown to detest them and those who defend them. You argue against reason and common sense. Victim shaming is inexcusable. Making them repeat details of their trauma by questioning their honesty is criminal and beneath contempt.
Ron, the frequency of these incidents very obviously matters when making reasoned and common sense decisions. Just stating that they happen ‘with great frequency’ without any data or sourcing is hardly a reliable foundation for good decisions.
No one is suggesting victims are dishonest.
Get E-bikes out of the park! Unregulated and dangerous!
Here we go AGAIN. 🙁 And NOTHING will be done. Follow the money.
We need E- Vehicles BANNED from NYC parks! These accudents happen WEEKLY!! Its a FACT. Our parks are for relaxation and safe recreation, NOT transportation! Motors do NOT belong in our parks!
This is a terrible thing to have happened. If the victim has a “severe head injury” as the bystander said, why would the police say “…she was alert, conscious, and stable when she was taken to the hospital.” And why did the let the cyclist go?
It is possible that she darted right in front of him (i.e., no criminal activity by the bike rider). I am 100% against E-bikes in the park, but I do see some questionable actions by pedestrians sometimes too. FWIW, I see way more questionable activities by bikers though.
You say that you’re not blaming the victim, and yet you’re speculating on what happened and how the victim could have caused the accident. Really? The fact of the matter is that the e-bike rider caused severe head trauma to the victim.
There are 2 or more people calling themselves Anon on this thread. I don’t want you angry at the wrong Anon.
Asking what happened isn’t victim blaming. Ideally the police would do this, and maybe they did, and then decide if there was a crime, and charge someone of there was. None of us believe the bike rider will be charged. That doesn’t tell us who caused the accident. The injuries also don’t tell us who is responsible.
I”m mildly surprised these collisions don’t happen more often. Enough is enough. It’s time for dedicated bike/e-bike lanes and separate pedestrian lanes.
No.
They should be banned in the park. Period.
E-bikes should not be allowed in any of our parks, and this terrible incident is why. A pedestrian should be able to enjoy our parks without fear of dangerous and often speeding e-bikes. We know the majority of New Yorkers feel this way!
It’s important to distinguish the “Classes” of E Bikes.
-Level 1 E Bikes require you to pedal, have no throttle, and don’t go over 20mph.
-Level 2 E Bikes add a throttle, and still only go 20mph.
-Level 3+ is what delivery riders are using. they go 28mph+ without peddling.
Level 1 e bikes are perfectly safe and add a huge amount of mobility for a wider range of users. Really no different than normal bike.
Actually, Level 1 & 2 bikes can go over 20 MPH, just without assist. The assist cuts out at 20 MPH.
There was another person hit and severly injured at 72nd and Park Drive West just a few minutes ago. This must stop!
As bad as the Park Drive is in Central Park, has anyone been down by the Green Way in Riverside Park?
For decades, I’ve jogged down by the Hudson River a few times a week but in the last two years or so it has become almost impossible.
You are literally taking your life into your hands if you try that now. Sometimes it feels like running in the middle of a highway.
Jokes on them though, Im so old now and my knees are so shot that I can’t run anymore.:)
Now I just sit on a bench and watch the madness.
If the jogger was using the 64th street transverse then she had no business being there because it’s actually for just cars not even bikes. I’d never do it.
If it was above the transverse and that section coming into Central Park from the West is always packed and I believe one is only supposed to walk their bike by the Tavern.
There seems to be missing info….
My friend was there and said that the e-biker was going the wrong way when he hit her in the crosswalk, so enforcement of even existing rules would help. Imagine if a car went the wrong way and got away with it. Bikers do this all the time. He did stay at the scene (he too fell though was not hurt) as I understood it.
I was hit by an e-scooter this April at the pedestrian crossing on the east drive just north of the Metropolitan Museum. There are still working traffic lights. I was crossing with several other people while we had the light. A group of bicyclists had stopped for the red light, but the e-scooter blazed through. He seem to come out of nowhere and hit me. I was taken by ambulance to the trauma center at Cornell-Weil with a big gash in my head which took nine stitches. The e-scooter operator had left the scene. I am always very careful, but Central Park has become too chaotic with the many speeding electric vehicles. Something needs to be done.
I almost got hit today by an e-bike and not in the park, but on the street.
I was crossing W. 80th Street and was watching for cars. Out of nowhere, an e-bike came barreling the wrong way ON THE STREET, not in the bike lane.
I’m used to looking both ways in bike lanes because these yahoos ride in both directions all the time. But I never expected it on the actual street.
These things need to be licensed and regulated like cars – or banned completely.
Same thing (almost) happened to me yesterday, on West End. It was coming at me so fast, from apparently far enough that the rider saw me before I was aware–certainly, he saw I HAD THE LIGHT–that it didn’t come into my consciousness at the point when I started to cross. A few seconds earlier and I’d either be dead or suffer the rest of my life in debilitating pain. Frightening thought.
I hope she’s okay. How many times have people on foot been nearly run odown by bike riders who don’t obey any lights to stop signs? imho the only way to protect runners and pedestrians in the Park is to put up the cement barriers between the lanes for bikers and folks on foot. That is, until the city figures out what kind of legislation to pass.
If the two pathways were delineated clearly, I this would reduce the possibility of collisions. Iit would be a pain in the ass to remove them for things like marathons (and maybe they wouldn’t need to do that) but bikers should have their own cement divided path, as should pedestrian. Not pretty but effective.
A quick and cheap solution to the problem would be creating RUMBLE STRIPS to cover about 15 feet of roadway before every pedestrian crossing/redlight/stop sign. That will force cyclists, and even cars to slow down before approaching the crossing and traffic lights. They use them even on the so called “third world countries” and it saves lives. Solving the problem usually isn’t that difficult, but the special interest groups do everything in their power to derail common sense. I hope the lady recovers soon, my wife was the victim of a biker in Central Park a few years back, he was a lance armstrong type and she spent 2 days in hospital. slow down people and yield to pedestrian, you will only lose 3 seconds of your ride!
Last week i was in front of the west side market. While exiting the store a man pedalling a large heavy bike – on the sidewalk – came close to me. I told him “you don’t need to ride on the sidewalk” Well that set him (white male, mid 30s) off – he doubled back – starting calling me names asking me if I walked against the light – called me “old man” (stinging rebuke) etc. He was on a large orange bike with two kids helmets attached to the bike! It always amazes me how you are subjected to self righteous rage in this sort of incident. Went to the precinct the next day to report this – sympathetic cop said i was entirely within my rights to speak to the biker. He assured me that cops try to address this kind of thing. Citibikers looking at their phones going the wrong way – is their some manual they all read that says “rules aren’t for you” ?
this is what we are up against – and agree with other poster about people on the Greenway in RS Park – i hate the high powered scooters the worst – you can have a 250 man riding those things at perilous speeds – it is no longer a relaxing stroll – as it was in the past.