Aug. 6, 2023 By Ben Brachfeld
A 19-year-old teenager was killed Thursday after crashing a motorcycle in Maspeth, Queens.
Police say Roman Mikirtichev, a resident of Woodhaven Boulevard in Middle Village, was driving a Suzuki motorcycle northbound on 64th Street in Maspeth, near the intersection with 58th Road, just before midnight on Aug. 3 when he reportedly lost control of his motorbike. Mikirtichev careened into a Nissan SUV being driven southbound on 64th Street by a 58-year-old man, who remained on the scene.
The teen was ejected from the motorbike, which continued until colliding with a parked vehicle. Police discovered Mikirtichev unconscious and unresponsive, sporting traumatic injuries. He was rushed to Elmhurst Hospital, where he was pronounced deceased.
Mikirtichev’s death came about an hour after another motorcyclist was killed on city streets, this one in a hit-and-run in Harlem. A 42-year-old man was driving a Honda motorbike southbound on the Henry Hudson Parkway, near West 145th Street, when he was struck at a high rate of speed by the driver of a grey BMW.
The crash caused the man to be ejected from his bike into the highway’s center lane, where he was struck by the driver of a black Mercedes, which was also speeding. Both the BMW and Mercedes fled the scene. The motorcyclist was taken to Harlem Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The motorcyclist has not been publicly identified, pending family notification, and neither the BMW nor Mercedes driver has been identified as of Sunday, a police spokesperson said. The spokesperson could not confirm whether the two were drag racing.
Yet another casualty was added to the weekend’s tally on Saturday, this one in the Bronx. Police say the 35-year-old operator of a Husqvarna motorbike was driving southbound on Jerome Avenue in Mount Eden a little before 4 p.m., when he struck a Nissan SUV whose driver, a 58-year-old woman, was making a U-turn near Goble Place.
The motorcyclist, who has not been identified pending family notification, was ejected from the bike and fell to the roadway, while the Nissan careened into a parked vehicle. The Nissan driver remained on the scene.
The motorcyclist was found by police with severe traumatic injuries and was pronounced dead on the scene.
The NYPD has recorded 131 fatalities in traffic collisions so far this year, down 12.7% from the same time last year. Every borough has seen declines in traffic deaths this year except for Queens, where fatalities from collisions are up over 40% so far in 2023 compared to last year.
Read more: Family Praises NYPD for Traffic Rescue in Brooklyn