A 32-year-old skateboarder was killed after hitching a ride on a truck headed westbound on Delancey Street yesterday afternoon.
It happened around 1:20 p.m. near Norfolk Street. Richard Oates, a Greenpoint resident, was reportedly hanging on to the passenger side of a green Mack truck when he fell and was hit by the rear wheels of the rig. Oates was rushed to Bellevue Hospital but his injuries were too severe and doctors could not save him.
John Froeber, a witness, told DNA Info that the truck driver continued to head down Delancey Street without stopping. “It appeared like the guy in the garbage truck didn’t know he hit him,” he said. AM New York reports, however, that the truck driver “stayed on the scene.”
According to Channel 4, the NYPD’s Collision Investigation Squad is investigating the accident. No charges have been filed against the driver.
UPDATE 9:44 a.m. According to the Daily News, Oates formerly worked as a chef for Freemans, the Lower East Side restaurant. Last year, he and his wife opened East River Skate Shop in Greenpoint. The shop was profiled by the Greenpoint Gazette and NY Skateboarding.
Why would an adult with so much going for them put their life at risk by performing such a dangerous stunt? A wife and two young kids plus an owner of an exciting new business.