A Friday night bike ride through Manhattan's East Village ended in tragedy when a commercial truck struck two teenage girls riding together on a single Citi Bike, killing 15-year-old Daria Serkov and leaving her 16-year-old friend hospitalized. The crash happened around 9 p.m. at East 14th Street and 1st Avenue, when a 57-year-old man driving a Peterbilt truck bearing a Badger Daylighting logo, a company that performs hydro excavation work, turned right onto 1st Avenue while heading west and struck the bike as it attempted the same turn. The 16-year-old was operating the bicycle with Serkov riding as a passenger; both were rushed to NYC Health and Hospitals/Bellevue, where Serkov was pronounced dead and the surviving teen was treated for a leg injury and listed in stable condition. Photos from the scene showed the crushed Citi Bike and a shoe lodged beneath the truck, and the driver, who was uninjured, remained at the scene; no arrests had been made as of Saturday morning.

The NYPD's Highway District Collision Investigation Squad is investigating the crash, and Badger Daylighting, the New Jersey-based company that owns the truck, said in a statement that it was devastated and offered condolences to Serkov's family and friends. The tragedy has reignited concerns about the safety of the intersection, with the advocacy group Transportation Alternatives noting that Serkov was the fourth cyclist killed along an eight-block stretch of 1st Avenue in the past decade. The organization's executive director called on the city to install turn-calming measures, protected bike infrastructure, and a protected bike intersection to prevent similar tragedies. For now, the corner remains a somber reminder of the risks cyclists and pedestrians face at some of Manhattan's busiest and most dangerous turns.