A woman killed by an e-bike in Brooklyn had just stepped off a bus and was on her way to work when she was struck, her daughter said Tuesday.
Theresa Valenti, 60, worked in construction management, and was just getting ready to start her day when an e-bike rider zipping west in the bike lane on Flushing Ave. slammed into her near N. Elliott Place by the Brooklyn Navy Yard around 7:15 a.m., police said.
“She was on her way to work when it happened,” said Valenti’s daughter, Jessica Rebic, 39. “She has been hustling her whole life.”
Cops said Valenti was crossing the street in the middle of the block.
She was rushed to New York-Presbyterian Hospital Brooklyn Methodist, where she died about 50 minutes later.
The 39-year-old bike rider, along with a 41-year-old man riding on back of the same e-bike with him, were both taken to the same hospital in stable condition.
Flushing Ave. and North Elliott Place in Brooklyn. (Google)
Rebic said she was checking in with police to see if there was a video of the incident. In the meantime, she said she is struggling to understand what happened.
“I’m devastated my mother is gone,” Rebic said. “She is an amazing woman. She shouldn’t have died like this. We are shocked. She was the best anyone can be.”
Valenti’s ex-husband, Peter Rebic, 64, said the family is crushed.
“She was an amazing woman who worked her whole life,” he said.
Peter Rebic said he was reserving judgment until he knows more about what happened.
“There is a video we are waiting to see,” he said. “I’m not blaming anyone until we see it. We have been complaining about these bikes for years, it’s a plague. You can’t cross the street without nearly getting run over and the city does nothing about it. It’s insane.”
