Relatives of a pedestrian killed by an e-bike rider on a Brooklyn street said there should be stronger laws to regulate the motorized vehicles — and tougher penalties for reckless riders.
“There needs to be more strict laws regarding this,” said Elvira Ramirez Cruz, whose nephew Luis Cruz, 49, was mowed down by an e-bike on Friday as he walked home from his parked car in Greenpoint.
“You know, people are just getting hurt constantly by these reckless drivers, and they should be held accountable,” the aunt, 72, said in Spanish. “There should be justice when things like this happen.”
Cruz’ aunt said this wasn’t the first time someone on two wheels wreaked havoc in their lives.
“My daughter also got hit by a cyclist,” she said. “And, you know, she was hospitalized.”
Angel Salas, 34, the victim’s cousin, echoed the aunt’s outrage. Although the 26-year-old bike rider remained at the scene and cooperated with police, Salas said he should have been charged with a crime.
“This guy is released, not charged, not nothing,” Salas said of the cyclist. “How can that be?“
Cops said Cruz was crossing the middle of the block on Franklin St. near India St. around 7:40 p.m. when the e-bike rider rammed into him.
Cruz, who worked in a food truck and a deli, was thrown to the ground and suffered a severe head injury, cops said. Horrified witnesses watched as medics put his still body into an awaiting ambulance.
EMS rushed Cruz to Bellevue Hospital, where he died a short time later. He lived in Brooklyn about a mile from where he was hit, police said.
“He had just finished his shift at work,” the aunt said. “He had just parked his car, and I guess he was waiting by the side of the car when he got hit or struck.”
The victim’s aunt said she practically raised Cruz after he came to the U.S. from Mexico, leaving his mother behind. He initially lived with his aunt until he got out on his own, she said.
“I pretty much assumed responsibility for him,” she said. “So I almost feel like I lost a son with what happened. He came here to better his life and to also help his mom back at home in Mexico, because he would work here — and of course, you know, send money back home,”
But she said Cruz desperately needed a break.
“He had mentioned that he wanted to change his life for the better, because he was just tired and exhausted from working,” she said. “He was tired. He wanted to find something, a job, something more substantial, where he just wouldn’t feel so tired and exhausted.”
Cruz’ cousin Omar Velez, 45, said Cruz also wanted more for his kids. The aunt and cousin said Cruz had five children between the ages of 14 and 27.
“He was just a hard-working guy who just tried to live his life and not bother anybody,” Velez said. “He was just very quiet, very humble, not many vices and things like that. He’s just focused on his kids.”
