Within the span of 8 days, two cyclists have been crushed under the wheels of heavy semi-trucks. One, a yet unidentified male, was killed on Broadway at 86th Street. The other, Jill Solomon, age 30, lost her life the day before yesterday when a truck making a left-turn from Second Avenue onto the 59th Street Bridge reportedly "did not see her."

In both cases, police say that the cyclist either "fell" or "was caught" beneath the wheels of the truck, that the driver was "not at fault," and would not be charged. Police plan no further investigation.

Cyclists and pedestrians will gather today on Second Avenue at 59th Street to demand action and to mourn the two cyclists and the more than 250 pedestrians and cyclists killed each year on New York streets. They will call on the New York Police Department and District Attorney Robert Morgenthau to:
· fully investigate the two most recent deaths;
· crack down on oversize rigs in NYC; and
· prosecute to the fullest extent of the law motorists who kill or maim pedestrians while driving recklessly.

"The refusal of the NYPD and D.A. Morgenthau's office to aggressively investigate and charge killer drivers means it is 'open season' on New York's cyclists and pedestrians," said Transportation Alternatives Campaign Coordinator Paul Harrison.

Oversize trucks have been implicated in numerous deaths of cyclists and pedestrians. Last fall, 30-year bicycle commuter Clyde Moss was crushed beneath the wheels of a tractor trailer. Police regularly maintain the driver is without blame in such cases, but it is common knowledge that many truckers flagrantly violate New York City's truck size limits, which allow trucks only 55 ft. or less in length.