Drag racing eyed in hit-and-run death of motorcyclist in Manhattan: NYPD
A motorcyclist was struck and killed by two hit-and-run drivers who may have been drag racing on the Henry Hudson Parkway, police said Friday.
He was one of two motorcyclists killed in the city within an hour Thursday night.
The 42-year-old victim was on a Honda Grom sport motorcycle heading south on the Henry Hudson Parkway near W. 145th St. in Harlem when a speeding grey BMW rammed him from behind at 10:57 p.m. Thursday, cops said.
The motorcyclist was knocked off his bike and landed in the center lane of the highway, where he was run over by a speeding black Mercedes Benz, which was just a few seconds behind the first luxury car.
The drivers of both vehicles sped away without stopping, witnesses told police.
Medics rushed the motorcyclist to Harlem Hospital but he could not be saved. His name was not immediately disclosed.
Police are trying to determine whether the Mercedes Benz and BMW were racing against each other when the crash occurred.
About an hour later, a 19-year-old man on a motorcycle was heading south on 64th St. near Mount Olivet Cemetery in Maspeth, Queens, when he collided with a Nissan at 58th Road, cops said.
The two vehicles were heading in opposite directions on 64th St. when they hit each other.
EMS rushed the wounded teen to Elmhurst Hospital, where he died.
The 58-year-old man driving the Nissan remained at the scene. No arrests have been made.
Drag racing was suspected in an Aug. 1, 2021, fatal hit-and-run crash on the Van Wyck Expressway that took the life of a 77-year-old woman.
Detectives on Thursday arrested Semone Douglass for the 2021 crash, charging her with manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and reckless driving.
As of Thursday cops logged 23 fatal motorcycle crashes this year, one more than this time last year, according to NYPD statistics.
With Liam Quigley
