NYC Cyclist Deaths: Man Dies After Being Struck By Vehicle On West Side
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A man was struck and killed by a car while riding his bike early Monday in Manhattan.
Now, police are looking for the driver who they say never stopped, CBS2's Natalie Duddridge reported.
Police said 72-year-old Joseph Chiam was hit around 6 a.m. near Eighth Avenue and 45th Street. They believe he was riding north in the bike lane on Eighth Ave when a green Western Star truck made a left turn onto West 45th Street and ran into him.
A sanitation worker driving by saw Chiam on the ground and tried to help.
"When I get on the scene, I stop the truck, my partner gets out, I call 911. The guy's broke up, like the guy can't move. He's trying to move. He's not crying or nothing like that. He's trying to move, but he can't, he's broke up. It's sad," Jacqone Hopkins said.
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By the time emergency crews got there, Chiam was unconscious in the roadway next to his bike. He was transported Bellevue Hospital, but was later pronounced dead.
"It's just emotional. I seen him and I couldn't do nothing, you know I couldn't do anything man. I'm emotional just talking about it," Hopkins said.
Staff at a nearby deli said they didn't see the collision, but heard it and ran out.
"I hear voice outside, accident, and the man voice. I look outside and watch the guy outside. He was moving. But I didn't see anything, like a car or something like that. At the same time, we called the ambulance," worker Ali Alsamat said.
The deli employees said there was no sign of the vehicle involved. They said when they called 911, they were instructed not to move the man off the street, but to wait for first responders.
There are police cameras on a nearby corner and investigators are scouring through the footage to try and track down information to help find that driver. Police said, if you have any information, please call them at 1-800-577-TIPS.
