A driver who ran over a bicyclist in Long Island City on Tuesday afternoon had a suspended driver’s license, cops say.
Cyclist Aaron Padwee, 45, was riding on 21st Street near 46th Avenue when a driver opened a car door right in front of him, sending him up and flying into the street where a box truck operated by Austin Osorio ran him over and killed him.
Cops determined that Osorio, 32, had a suspended license. He was charged with aggravated unlicensed operator for driving with a suspended license.
State Sen. Michael Gianaris, who is pushing a bill that would stiffen criminal penalties against unlicensed drivers who kill or seriously injure someone.
“It’s a horrifying epidemic throughout our city and the legislature has been slow to do anything about it,” said Gianaris.
The Senate unanimously passed the bill last month and now it’s in the assembly’s court.
In January, an unlicensed man was charged with only misdemeanors after he struck and killed a 13-year-old cyclist riding through Bedford-Stuyvesant.