A 74-year-old pedestrian identified as Eric Wexler and a 42-year-old moped rider, whom officials identified as Rino El-Saieh were both killed in separate crashes in New York City in the space of 24 hours. According to the New York Daily News, Wexler was crossing the corner of 217th Street and Northern Boulevard in Cambria Heights, Queens the night of June 11 when an SUV driven by a 47-year-old man heading east on Northern Boulevard, struck him.
Ongoing Fatal Accident Investigations
Police said Wexler sustained massive injuries to his head and body and was rushed to an area hospital where he died. The driver remained at the scene and no charges were immediately filed pending an investigation. The vehicle involved had racked up six speeding violations and one red light violation, the Daily News reports. Wexler reportedly lived about four miles from the scene of the crash.
Later in the day, El-Saieh was struck by a car as he attempted to make a left turn on his moped from East 2nd Street onto Avenue P in Midwood, Brooklyn. Police said the car veered out of control, hitting the victim’s moped before slamming into two other vehicles. Medics rushed El-Saieh to a local hospital, but he succumbed to his injuries, officials said. The teen driver remained at the scene. That investigation is also ongoing and no one has been charged yet.
We offer our deepest condolences to the family members of Eric Wexler and Rino El-Saieh for their tragic and heartbreaking loss. They will be in our thoughts and prayers.
Uptick in Pedestrian and Bicycle Accidents in NYC
In 2023 and early 2024, New York City experienced a spike in both pedestrian and cyclist injuries and deaths. As of April 28, 2025, the City Council’s Committee on Public Safety reported 32 pedestrian deaths out of 36 total traffic fatalities year-to-date. That means pedestrians account for approximately 89% of traffic deaths. Contributing factors include failure to yield, speeding, and a rise in senior pedestrian fatalities (those over 60 years of age) increasing from 12 to 14 cases.
Moped collisions at intersections are often caused by a combination of visibility issues, driver inattention and failure to yield the right of way. One of the most common causes is that larger vehicles fail to see mopeds, especially at an intersection. Due to their smaller size, mopeds can easily be hidden in a car’s blind spot or behind other vehicles.
Contacting an Experienced Lawyer
If you or a loved one has been injured in a car accident, bicycle accident or pedestrian accident, or if you have lost a loved one in an auto accident caused by a negligent (careless) driver, the experienced New York personal injury attorneys at the Law Offices of Kenneth A. Wilhelm can help you better understand your legal rights and options, and also fight hard to recover just compensation for you.
Pedestrian accident victims and their families should remember that they can seek compensation for injuries or losses in collisions even if the victim was not walking in a marked crosswalk and even if the driver involved in collision was not charged. Our law firm recovered the full one-million-dollar insurance policy for a girl who was not in the crosswalk when a motor vehicle hit her.
For over 53 years, our skilled accident attorneys have established a proven track record of helping injured victims get fair compensation for their losses. Our law firm recently recovered $5,600,000 for a bicyclist who was hit by a van, and $2,550,000 for another victim of a truck accident, and $3,000,000 for a pedestrian who was hit by a car, and $2,000,000 in a hit-and-run accident, and the full $1,000,000 insurance policy for a pedestrian who was hit by a truck, and $4,625,000 for a driver who was in a car and was hit by a van, and $2,500,000 for a man who fell through an improperly secured hole.
We also obtained $295,000 out of a $300,000 insurance policy in compensation for the victim of a bicycle dooring accident (where a car door opens into the path of a bicyclist). Also, one of our clients obtained a verdict for $43,940,000 and another of our clients got a verdict for $23,500,000, both in medical malpractice cases.
Please contact us TOLL FREE 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-WORK-4-YOU (1-800-967-5496). WE CAN EVEN COME TO YOU. There is no attorneys’ fee unless we recover money for you. We can also help with personal injury, lead poisoning and medical malpractice cases including, brachial plexus palsy (Erb’s palsy) and cerebral palsy cases in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, or Florida. If you have been seriously injured in any of the 50 U.S. states, please call us and we will try to help you with your case.
Other TOLL FREE phone numbers for us are:
1-800-RADIO-LAW, 1-888-WYPADEK, OR 1-800-LAS-LEYES
Please visit us at: www.WORK4YOULAW.com
Source: https://www.nydailynews.com/2025/06/13/senior-pedestrian-moped-rider-killed-in-separate-nyc-crashes-in-24-hours/