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Incident location, Long Island
What Happened
A 59-year-old Far Rockaway resident was struck and killed by an SUV while riding his bicycle on Beech Street near the intersection with Scott Drive in East Atlantic Beach at approximately 7:45 a.m. on March 24, according to Nassau County police. Firefighters pronounced the cyclist dead at the scene. About three hours later, police located the vehicle and arrested the driver, Erin M. Henry, 67, of Long Beach, charging her with a felony for fleeing the scene of the fatal crash.
Henry pleaded not guilty to the charges, and her lawyer told Newsday “we feel horrible for the victim.” The crash occurred on a stretch of road where Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman’s administration had quietly canceled a long-planned protected pedestrian and bicycle path that was designed to improve safety for cyclists and pedestrians, according to residents, county lawmakers and planning documents reviewed by Newsday.
The fatal collision happened on a section of Beech Street where at least six people were injured in crashes during the year preceding the cyclist’s death, with three of those injuries classified as serious, according to Newsday’s crash data analysis. While none of those previous crashes involved cyclists or pedestrians, one victim was an 11-year-old child who required airlift transport from the scene after a crash involving a drunk driver.
An Atlantic Beach resident who primarily travels by bicycle said he was initially horrified by the cyclist fatality but then became angry “because this road was supposed to be protected” by the shared-use path that had been planned for the area. The resident described riding along Beech Street as having “always been crazy — people drive 55 miles an hour,” despite the posted speed limit of 25 mph.
The canceled infrastructure project would have created a protected path for cyclists and pedestrians separated from the roadway by a grassy strip, along with implementing a “road diet” that would have narrowed the street from four lanes to two lanes plus a turning lane. Traffic engineers say such lane reductions slow drivers down even when police enforcement isn’t present. Instead of the safety improvements, county contractors who began work last fall simply repaved the existing sidewalks and installed new drainage systems.
County spokesman Christopher Boyle did not respond to multiple requests for comment about the ongoing project, including why the protective path was eliminated from the construction plans. The repaved sidewalks that replaced the planned bike path are narrow in places and interrupted by telephone poles that force pedestrians to walk around them, according to observations during the ongoing construction work.
Location & Road Context
The fatal crash occurred on Beech Street in East Atlantic Beach, a thoroughfare that serves as a major connector between bay-side and beach-side communities in the area. The road features an S-curve configuration and has long been identified by residents as dangerous due to excessive speeds and poor pedestrian infrastructure.
A resident who lives just north of Beech Street in East Atlantic Beach said she doesn’t allow her fifth-grade child to cross the street alone because “the roads around us are just so dangerous.” The president of the East Atlantic Beach Taxpayers’ Association described the street as “such a divider” that prevents the area from feeling like a cohesive neighborhood. The planned bike path would have connected communities on either side of the busy corridor.
Investigation & Legal Proceedings
Erin M. Henry faces felony charges for leaving the scene of the fatal crash that killed the cyclist. She was arrested approximately three hours after the 7:45 a.m. collision when police located her vehicle. Henry has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and her attorney expressed remorse for the victim while indicating they would contest the case. Newsday was unable to locate family members of the victim for comment about the ongoing legal proceedings.