Teen’s death in Lower Manhattan crash raises questions about illegal e-bikes on city streets
A teen on an illegal e-bike died in a crash with an SUV in Lower Manhattan Wednesday, police said.
It happened at around 9 a.m. at Centre Street and Chambers Street.
According to police, the teenager was on the e-bike heading north on Centre Street. He had just come off the nearby Brooklyn Bridge, police believe, and collided with a Chevy SUV in the northbound lane.
The teen was killed in the crash. He has been identified as 17-year-old Gabriel Nacato. The driver of the SUV stayed on the scene.
The intersection was closed as the investigation continued.
Family mourns loss of youngest son
Nacato’s mother, Norma Jami, told CBS News New York she was shattered after losing her youngest son.
In Spanish, she said they hugged when he dropped her off at work around 8:30 a.m. Wednesday.
In their last moments together, she remembers telling each other “I love you” and reminding him to be careful as he headed off to his summer job.
Nacato’s sister described him as cheerful and says he was passionate about excelling in school.
Photo provided
Use of illegal e-bike prompts calls for change
Police said the e-bike involved is illegal.
“My thoughts at this time, first and foremost, are with the family of that teenager. We’re talking about a 17-year-old New Yorker who is now dead. And that is something that we should all mourn when we see that a family will have to live with that tragedy hovering over their lives for not just weeks or months, but frankly years and decades to come,” New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said. “I’ve long said and I continue to believe that we cannot have a hierarchy of safety on the basis of what mode of transit you use. You should be just as safe whether you’re driving a car, walking, riding a bike, getting on a bus or getting on the train.”
The riders advocacy group Transportation Alternatives said the device involved was not street legal, but is still available for purchase online.
“No one should be able to buy an illegal high-speed device on the internet and have it shipped to New York. These devices are a threat to everyone — regardless of whether you’re riding on one yourself or walking or biking near one,” Ben Furnas of Transportation Alternatives said. “Now, another New Yorker is dead. Attorney General Letitia James can show leadership by issuing a consumer alert to warn New Yorkers before another life is lost on our streets. New Yorkers deserve to know if what they’re trying to buy is illegal and dangerous.”
“Some of our laws are not strong enough”
The e-bike involved was capable of higher speeds than legally allowed.
“These kind of street illegal e-bikes fall into a class that is very difficult to regulate,” Emily Jacobi of Transportation Alternatives said.
“There is this massive marketing scheme behind these illegal high-speed devices trying to convince the American and the New York consumer that they’re safe, they’re just e-bikes, but they are not,” said Alexa Sledge, with Transportation Alternatives.
“I also think that when it goes into the question of illegal e-bikes, there is also a conversation to be had both at the city level and at the state level about what kind of legislative avenues can we take to ensure that only the safest methods of transit and the ones that are legally permissible are the ones that are actually being used across New York City,” Mamdani said.
“Some of our laws are not strong enough, and it appears some of our responses are not keeping up with the tech alternatives,” Public Advocate Jumaane Williams said.
“These are extremely fast and heavy vehicles, and we need to understand how we can get a handle on them,” Manhattan Borough President Brad-Hoylman-Sigal said.
Sledge said Transportation Alternatives and nine senators are pushing for a consumer warning for illegal high-speed electric devices, along with a New York City bill that ends the sale of any e-bike that goes faster than 20 mph.
Leaders of Los Deliveristas Unidos weighed in on the issue.
“Education has to be focused to drivers, pedestrians and everybody because nobody is safe in New York City,” Gustavo Ajche said.
Jacobi also took issue with the layout of the intersection where the crash took place.
“We’ve known this intersection here is dangerous and a mess,” Jacobi said.
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