Cyclist James Gregg was biking along Park Slope's 6th Avenue yesterday morning when he was killed by the driver of an 18-wheel tractor trailer. Details of the crash are still emerging, but the NYPD has already floated two possible explanations: that Gregg "collided into rear tire of the tractor trailer," and that the truck, while passing Gregg, "created something like a wind force that sucked the bicycle toward the back of the truck."

When asked for further clarification on this "wind force," an NYPD spokesperson said, "That's normally what happens...a lot of times with these big trucks there can be a breeze that can force people underneath, especially if they're on a bicycle." The spokesperson said he could not yet confirm that this is what happened in yesterday's incident.

The crash happened at the intersection of Sterling Place and 6th Avenue, neither of which is a designated truck route. Furthermore, 18-wheel tractor-trailers such as the one involved in yesterday's incident are not permitted to drive on any city streets without a special permit, and it's not clear how rigorously the NYPD enforces that rule. As of this morning, no arrests had been made in yesterday's case, though the driver was issued a summons, according to the NYPD.

We asked Paul Steely White, executive director of Transportation Alternatives, for his thoughts on this "wind force" explanation.

"Our cursory research indicates the truck would have to be traveling at a very high speed for that to be a real phenomenon on a city street, in which case the driver would be speeding—but of course there's no mention of that," White said. "And even if it were true, the truck was clearly passing too close to the bicyclist. If the cyclist was overtaking the truck, the truck would not have been traveling at a sufficient rate or speed to be generating wind force."

Prior to this latest potential explanation, the NYPD said it seemed that Gregg rode his bike into the truck's rear wheels; before that, officers at the scene reportedly told people that he was grabbing the side of the truck as if to hitch a ride.

"The whole approach, first saying the biker was skitching, then wind force and saying he collided with the rear wheel, all just speaks to the victim-blaming that still pervades the NYPD," White said. "They seem to be blaming everything but reckless driving in so many of these cases, and I can't help but wonder if they just don't want to do their job, or they just don't see it as their responsibility to crack down on this lawless behavior that kills so many New Yorkers."

He also might have fallen because, you know, a giant fucking truck was squeezing him on a narrow residential street. — Brooklyn Spoke (@BrooklynSpoke) April 21, 2016

In the wake of Gregg's death, Park Slope residents set up a small memorial at the site of the crash. One such resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said that when he stopped by the site at 9 p.m. last night, he and the other four people there were nearly hit by the driver of another 18-wheeler turning right on Sterling Place to head north on 6th Avenue. In the process of the turn, the truck came up on the sidewalk.

"Had we not moved we all would have gotten killed," the resident told us. "It came within an inch of hitting the piece of scaffolding on St. Augustine church. It was just unbelievable that the same day, nothing, no enforcement."



The resident took a picture of the truck as it sped away on 6th Avenue.

A spokesperson for the Department of Transportation referred questions about ensuring trucks remain off non-designated streets to the NYPD, and said that "this is not a truck route and there is signage in the area alerting motorists as such."

This morning, some Park Slope residents noticed that police were pulling over trucks on 6th Avenue near the site of the crash. As of yesterday, the NYPD's 78th precinct, which includes Park Slope, had not issued any tickets for truck route violations this year. According to city data, in 2015, five tickets for truck route violations were issued in that precinct, compared to 55 in 2014. By comparison, 222 summonses were issued for cyclists riding on the precinct's sidewalks in 2012, and 304 in 2013, though that number has dropped sharply in recent years.

"Can you blame people for wanting to ride on the sidewalk on 6th?" asked the resident who was nearly struck by the 18-wheeler at Gregg's memorial site last night. "It's sort of insanity to be at once telling the community don't ride on the sidewalk, but we're not going to enforce the truck rules."