Jun. 19, 2023 By Ben Brachfeld
A 17-year-old girl is dead following a high-speed motorcycle crash in Whitestone early Monday, according to police.
Alyssa Henley, of Bellerose, sustained severe head trauma when she was ejected from a motorcycle where she was a rear passenger at the interchange of the Cross Island Parkway and Whitestone Expressway. She was pronounced dead at the scene just after midnight on Monday.
Police say Henley was a passenger on a 2002 Honda motorcycle driven by a 29-year-old man, who was apparently operating the bike at a high rate of speed when he lost control. The driver was heading northbound on the Cross Island Parkway and attempting to exit onto the southbound Whitestone Expressway, but apparently struggled to get through a sharp curve.
The motorbike ultimately struck a curb and fell on its right side, causing Henley to be ejected from the vehicle.
The 29-year-old man, who has not been identified, was taken to New York Presbyterian Queens Hospital in Flushing and was reported in stable condition. It’s unclear what the relationship was between him and Henley.
No arrests have been made in relation to the incident, but the investigation remains ongoing by the NYPD’s Collision Investigation Squad.
Henley’s death bookends a gruesome holiday weekend on city streets.
Another motorcyclist, 33-year-old Timothy Lopez of Williamsbridge, of the Bronx, died on Friday after crashing his Honda motorcycle into an elevated 2/5 line subway pillar at East 217th Street and White Plains Road, just a block from his home.
Also on Friday, 18-year-old Stuyvesant Town resident Malcom Livesey was riding an electric Citi Bike near his home when he was fatally struck by a box truck driver after merging lanes, police said.
On Saturday, 18-year-old Amandeep Singh of Jamaica, Queens was driving a Honda sedan at high-speed on the Triboro Bridge entering the Bronx when he failed to complete a curve while exiting onto the Major Deegan Expressway, crashing into a jersey barrier. Singh was ejected through the car’s windshield and struck a street lamp pole, leaving him with severe head trauma.
On Sunday, a 6-year-old boy was left in critical condition after being struck by a moped driver on a pedestrian walkway in East Harlem’s Thomas Jefferson Park. The moped driver fled the scene.
One hundred people have been killed in traffic collisions on city streets in 2023 as of June 11, according to NYPD statistics. That’s three more than at the same time last year.
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