E-Biker Dies in Central Park Accident With Pedestrian

A man riding an e-bike in Central Park died after colliding with a pedestrian using a crosswalk on Wednesday, June 18, authorities confirmed to Straus News. The pedestrian sustained minor injuries and did not need to be hospitalized. The incident remains under investigation by the NYPD Highway District’s Collision Investigation Squad, and no arrests have been made.

Salvador Nico-Garcia, a 43-year-old who lived at 920 E. 174th St. in the Bronx, has been identified as the man killed. He was reportedly riding his bike near East 97th Street and East Drive shortly before 6pm, when he ran into the unidentified 41-year-old pedestrian.

Nico-Garcia was then flung from his bike and struck his head on the curb, the NYPD said. EMS units rushed him to Mount Sinai Morningside in critical condition after responding to a 911 call at around 5:47pm. He was pronounced dead. The pedestrian was reportedly observed as having a “minor left hand abrasion” but refused treatment on scene.

According to citywide traffic data, the amount of people who have died riding either bikes or e-bikes has notably dipped in 2025, compared with this time last year. As of the week ending June 15, there has been only one collision death of somebody riding a “traditional” bike, compared with three at that point in 2024.

The number of people who have died piloting e-bikes and e-scooters, which are included in the “motorized two-wheelers” category, remains well elevated over regular bike crashes on a citywide basis–but has dipped to 13 incidents as of June 15, compared with 29 in the same period a year earlier.

Yet a granular look at collision data for the Central Park Precinct reveals that reported collisions there have either modestly decreased, or even increased, on a year-to-date basis by June 15. Interestingly, stats reveal that more people crash on regular bikes in the park than on e-bikes or e-scooters, while the opposite is true for NYC overall. It is unclear whether these crashes have involved pedestrians.

While there had apparently been no deaths of either bike or e-bike riders in the precinct until June 18, there had reportedly been 34 traditional bike crashes in the park by June 15, compared with 39 in the same time frame a year earlier. There have also been eight crashes involving e-bikes or motor-scooters in the park, one more than the seven that had occurred by this point last year. These were split evenly between e-bikes and e-scooters.