Young Artist Killed By Truck While Cycling To Work

Young Artist Killed By Truck While Cycling To Work

A 27-year-old cyclist who worked as an artist in the Brooklyn Navy Yard was killed by a truck yesterday morning.

Leah Sylvain was riding northbound in the bike lane on Evergreen Avenue when she was struck by a Peterbilt truck driven by 52-year-old Joseph Cherry as it turned left onto Hart Street on June 7 at about 6:45am, according to the NYPD. She was pronounced dead at Woodhull Hospital, say police.

Cherry was also riding northbound on Evergreen Avenue when he made a left turn on Hart Street and hit Sylvain, according to cops.

Syvlain worked as a charge scenic painter at Scenicorp in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and was on her usual commute to work, according to the New York Post.

The Post reports:

“I couldn’t think straight. My heart just dropped,” said the woman’s roommate, Tina Duran, 45.
“It’s shocking. She was always a happy girl with a smile on her face.”
“I used to tell her to be careful because there are lots of crazies out there,” Duran added. “She would say, ‘Yeah, I know, I will be careful.’”

Cherry has been charged with four counts including failure to yield to a bicyclist and and failure to exercise due care, according to police.

The intersection of Evergreen Avenue and Hart Street (courtesy Google Maps.)
The intersection of Evergreen Avenue and Hart Street (courtesy Google Maps.)

According to CBS2 New York:

Anthony Cherry said his father was behind the wheel of the truck and stopped immediately when they heard a loud “boom.”
“We thought we hit a car and it was actually person,” said Cherry, who was in the passenger seat of the truck at the time of the crash. “I was so traumatized. I freaked out.”

Unfortunately, there have been several bike-related fatalities recently.

In April, James Gregg, co-owner of The Great Georgiana (248 DeKalb Avenue), was struck and killed while riding his bike in Prospect Heights.

(Courtesy Fort Greene Focus/Justin Fox)
The Great Georgiana’s tribute to its fallen co-owner. (Courtesy Fort Greene Focus/Justin Fox)

Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams led a bike tour in April to mourn the loss of Gregg and another fallen bicyclist, Lauren Davis.

Bike lanes have been a hot topic in the neighborhood. Last month, the Department of Transit withdrew plans for a bike lane on Clinton Avenue after significant community opposition.