Jan. 28, 2025 By Bill Parry
A Woodside cyclist died on Friday, Jan. 25, more than a year and four months after he was rear-ended by a driver on Roosevelt Avenue in Jackson Heights, police said Sunday.
Francisco Valle-Alatorre, 44, of 62nd Street, succumbed to complications from the severe head trauma he suffered when he was struck in broad daylight on the afternoon of Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023, according to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
The NYPD’s Highway District Collision Investigation Squad determined that Valle-Alatorre was cycling westbound on Roosevelt Avenue just over a mile from his home, and was near the intersection of 84th Street and Roosevelt Avenue at 2:30 p.m. when he was struck from behind by a 45-year-old man who was behind the wheel of a 2018 Honda Pilot.
He was thrown from his bike and suffered an injury to his head, police said, adding that it was unclear if the cyclist was wearing a helmet at the time of the collision. EMS responded to the scene and rushed the victim to Elmhurst Hospital on the day of the crash.
An NYPD spokeswoman said Tuesday that the driver remained at the scene and was not arrested. She added that the motorist placed the 911 call reporting the collision, and the NYPD’s Highway District Collision Investigation Squad will re-interview him as part of the ongoing investigation.