A young immigrant Arabic tutor riding his scooter in Queens died 10 days after he was “doored” by a parked car, sending him tumbling to the pavement and leaving him in a coma, according to cops and his heartbroken sister.
Sahan Ahmed, 24, was riding his electric scooter west on Liberty Ave. in Ozone Park when he crashed into the driver’s-side door of a parked 2012 Kia Soul that unexpectedly opened in front of him near 103rd Ave., sending him flying onto the roadway about 6 p.m. Nov. 18, police said.
“He was hit very badly. His head was completely injured,” the victim’s sister Runa Begum told the Daily News. “When the lady opened the door of her car, he just fell and his head hit something … He went into a coma.”
Ahmed settled in Queens with his family in 2021.
“When he came to the US from Bangladesh, he started teaching Arabic to kids and worked at the mosque,” Begum said. “He was coming from tutoring the kids that day. He used to teach Arabic to kids as a home tutor.”
The 67-year-old driver remained at the scene. She faced no immediate charges as cops continue to investigate the crash.
Ahmed bought the electric scooter he was riding just last year after saving up for it, according to Begum. “He biked everywhere,” she said, referring to the scooter.
He wasn’t wearing a helmet at the time of the collision — a safety precaution that could possibly have saved his life.
“I always told him to wear a helmet, but he didn’t wear one,” Begum said.
Ahmed was about a mile from home he collided with the door. He is survived by two other siblings in addition to Begum.
Courtesy of family
Sahan Ahmed in his hospital bed after being doored by a car while riding his scooter in Ozone Park, Queens on Nov. 18. Ahmed died 10 days after the incident. (Courtesy of family)
“The whole family is very sad and misses Sahan so much,” Begum said.
In October, 26-year-old bicyclist Cristian Villafuerte Vasquez died after being “doored” in Corona.
Vasquez was pedaling north on 108th St. when the drirver of a BMW 320i opened his door as he exited his vehicle near 38th Ave. around 6:40 p.m. Oct. 27, cops said. Vasquez crashed into the open door and suffered a severe head injury when he was thrown off his bike, dying a short time later.
And in September, 56-year-old fashion photographer Jose Luis Mora was “doored” as he rode an e-bike west on 103rd Ave. in South Richmond Hill, the same street where Ahmed was killed but about a mile-and-a-half away.
A 30-year-old man behind the wheel of a 2011 Nissan Maxima parked near 117th St. threw open his door about 4:20 p.m. Sept. 21. Mora died three weeks later.
A city Department of Transportation source said that 103rd Ave. is not a “priority corridor,” for safety improvements but noted that the department pays special attention to streets whenever there is a fatality.
“Our thoughts are with the families and loved ones of Sahan and Jose and we are reviewing these locations,” said city Transportation Department spokesman Vincent Barone.
Traffic fatalities among cyclists and e-bike and e-scooter riders have declined about 15% citywide since 2024, when there were 60 such fatalities in the first nine months of the year, according to city data.
With Evan Simko-Bednarski
