Neighbors Mourn After Crash Kills 23-Year-Old Motorcyclist In Kensington
#BK: THE MOTORCYCLE AX ON #MCDONALDAVE & #DITMASAVE WAS FATAL. #NEWS12BK #BROOKLYN pic.twitter.com/biN4JxhMSU
— charleyNEWS12 (@charleynews12) July 16, 2017
A 23-year-old motorcyclist was thrown from his seat and killed after colliding with a car in Kensington on Sunday afternoon, said cops.
Cops found Slavik Avagyan, 23, unconscious with trauma to his head just after 3pm on Sunday, July 16 at the intersection of McDonald Avenue and Ditmas Avenue.
Avagyan, who was driving a 2017 Yamaha motorcycle southbound on McDonald Avenue, was traveling at a high speed when he collided with a Honda Civic attempting to make a left turn onto Ditmas Avenue, said cops.
A family member, who wished to speak anonymously, said he came out from the store just moments after the crash happened. “I saw the black motorcycle and saw him lying in the street, shaking. There was blood coming out,” he said in disbelief.
“He was 23, he was a kid,” he said. “Just starting to live.”
While family members were at the hospital Sunday night, Avagyan’s local friends put together an elaborate candlelight vigil on McDonald Avenue, covering over the dark stains that remained on the street. Today, family and friends gathered around the heart-shaped memorial, lighting candles and consoling each other.
“We’re neighborhood kids,” said Avagyan’s friend, hugging his younger brother. “He had a heart of gold, full of energy and full of life.”
Eye witnesses say that the driver made the left turn from Ditmas Avenue after having pulled in to the road as the motorcyclist sped up to the light. One person saw Avagyan at the moment of impact, and told BKLYNER that he flew off the motorcycle and hit the railing before landing in the street.
The driver of the vehicle remained at the scene, said cops and witnesses, and looked severely shocked. As of publication, there have been no arrests and the investigation is ongoing by the New York City Police Department’s Highway Patrol Collision Investigation Squad.
“This is a dangerous corner,” said another friend, as a steady line of cars and trucks crawled past on McDonald Avenue, craning their necks to look down onto the vigil.