New York City, died 10.August.2006
Urban Express, killed on the job by truck
Bike messenger, 20, dies in Chelsea collision with
truck
New York Daily News, August 11, 2006
By Jordan Lite and Ernie Naspretto
A 20-year-old bicycle messenger was crushed to death yesterday under the wheels of a turning flatbed truck in Chelsea, cops and witnesses said.
Moments after the 9:50 a.m. accident, witnesses said, the driver
got out of the truck, collapsed and cried, "What have I done?"
Messenger Darren Lewis had been riding south on Ninth Ave. when he collided
with the Kamco Supply Corp. truck, which was turning onto 29th St.
"He tried to beat the truck. It just crushed him. We tried
to talk to him, but he was dead," said Louis Nelson, 47, who was driving
a postal
delivery truck behind the flatbed. Nelson said Lewis came up on the truck's
"blind side" as the driver was turning.
"The driver knew he hit something, but didn't know what,"
said Dan Thomas, 34, an assistant manager at a sports rehab center who called
911.
Police would not release the driver's name but said equipment violation summonses unrelated to the accident were issued. No criminal charges were filed. The driver was taken to St. Vincent's Hospital, where he passed a Breathalyzer test.
Lewis, of Harlem, worked for Urban Express. A fellow messenger, Dwayne Davis, 40, appeared at the scene to retrieve packages Lewis was delivering. "He was a young guy trying to make a living like everyone else. Everyone in the company is feeling it," he said.