A bizarre hit-and-run case has developed in Williamburg over the past two weeks, which resulted in the police department's conclusion that the driver was not necessarily aware that he had hit anyone.

At around midnight on Wednesday, October 19, 30-year-old artist Mathieu Lefevre, a native of Canada, was cycling south alongside a flatbed truck. They both made the turn east but Lefevre was caught beneath and dragged about 50-60 yards down the street. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Soon after, police found the truck parked legally several blocks away without the driver. After a few days, the driver was found but police concluded no criminality. To the NYPD, the driver could very well have been unaware -- and was likely unaware -- that a body was being dragged or rolled beneath his truck.

Last week, pedestrian and cyclist advocates like Transportation Alternatives, Lefevre's family, and supporters rallied at 1 Police Plaza downtown to protest both what they viewed as the police's pattern of lackluster prosecution of crash instigators, as well as their stonewalling of information. Lefevre's parents had travelled from western Canada  but had yet to receive the NYPD's information to conclude for themselves whether the case was rightly dropped.

As a practicing wrongful death and personal injury attorney in New York, I deal with tragic accidents like this every day. If you have experienced related problems, I may be able to help.

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If you would like more information about how negligence and accident cases work in the state of New York, I encourage you to explore my educational website. If you have legal questions,  I urge you to pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail at [email protected] to answer your questions. That's what I do every day. I welcome your call.