A 13-year-old boy riding as a passenger on a moped was killed Monday afternoon in a crash involving a truck in the Flushing neighborhood of Queens, New York City. The accident occurred shortly after 12:30 p.m. on 162nd Street near 45th Avenue, authorities said.
According to police and eyewitness accounts, two 13-year-old boys were on the moped when the operator attempted to avoid a collision with a car door that had been opened by the driver of a parked vehicle. The moped struck the door before veering into the side of a moving six-wheel box truck, which was traveling southbound on the same street. Video footage of the incident shows both teenagers falling under the truck’s trailer just as the vehicle was passing.
An eyewitness identified only as John described the scene, saying the operator tried to avoid the open door but lost control, resulting in the moped sliding beneath the truck. He added that the passenger was run over by the truck’s rear wheel. The footage captured by a bystander shows the passenger lying unconscious on the roadway, while a passerby immediately began administering chest compressions.
Paramedics transported both boys to New York-Presbyterian Hospital Queens. The passenger was pronounced dead at the hospital, but police did not release his name. The operator sustained injuries but was reported to be in stable condition and expected to recover.
Neither the truck driver nor the parked vehicle’s driver sustained injuries in the collision. Both remained at the scene, with the truck driver declining to comment to reporters.
Authorities have not filed any charges as the investigation into the circumstances of the crash continues. Police are reviewing video evidence and interviewing witnesses to determine the precise sequence of events leading to the fatal collision.
