Volume 22, Number 31 | The Newspaper of Lower Manhattan | December 11 - 17, 2009

Downtown Express photo by Josh Rogers
A motorcyclist was hit by a van and taken to the hospital Tuesday, although apparently, he did not turn out to be seriously hurt. The van driver is in the background standing near another van.
Motorcycle accident
A 50-year-old motorcyclist collided with a van on the Sixth Ave. service road near Dominick St. on Tuesday around noon, police said. The man was conscious and taken to St. Vincent’s Hospital with his head stabilized. Adam Wood, a witness who spoke to the victim later in the day, said the man was not seriously hurt and was feeling fine.
Wood works at the Ducati luxury motorcycle store, which coincidentally is right near the accident scene. Ducati workers took the man’s motorcycle into the store to keep it safe. Wood said police at the scene determined that the van driver was pulling out of a parking spot without looking as the motorcyclist was riding down the narrow service road. The biker then hit a parked car taking off its side view mirror before knocking over a parked motorcycle. Ducati workers said neither motorcycle involved was owned by customers or employees of the store.
The van driver, 33, said in an interview that he was not parked, but driving down the service road when the biker tried to pass him.
Wood said drivers do not pay enough attention to motorcycles. “Anything to get the word out about motorists looking out for motorcycles would be great,” he said.
— Josh Rogers