A 54-year-old man has died following an e-bike crash in Riverhead, according to News 12 New York, which identified him as John Sammartino. His sudden death has left those who knew him grieving and has added a painful example to a growing local debate over the safety of electric bikes.
According to the account pieced together by News 12, someone offered Sammartino the chance to ride on their e-bike on Wednesday evening, and that ride ended in the fatal crash. Multiple witnesses said he lost control as he went around a bend, swerving before he slammed down.
Riverhead police said they responded to the back of a store on Old Country Road at around 5:30 that evening. There, first responders found Sammartino unconscious and in traumatic arrest, and investigators said he was not wearing a helmet at the time of the crash.
Those who knew him were left heartbroken. He had been seen just days earlier sitting on the sidewalk inside a nearby shopping center, and a friend recalled speaking with him only a day before, asking how he was doing and about the people they knew from the local laundromat.
In the aftermath, his belongings sat untouched in the parking lot. Those who knew him described a man who never bothered anyone and was always trying to be self-sufficient and make the best of his situation. "He's been a part of my everyday life for 15 years, and five minutes later he was dead," one person said.
Others in the community used the death as a warning about the dangers of the bikes. "These e-bikes are getting a little out of hand," one resident said, adding that everybody really needs to be careful, because if people aren't careful, you could lose your loved one.
The crash comes on the heels of the Riverhead Town Board strengthening local restrictions on e-bikes to protect riders, other drivers and pedestrians. Town officials said they are focused on enforcing the new laws to prevent another situation like this from happening again.