Senator Chan's Statement On Deadly Moped Incidents

Ella Labinskiy and Celine Yan

July 10, 2025

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 10th, 2025

BROOKLYN, NY— On Wednesday, July 9th, a 90-year-old man identified as Zhuo Lin Xie, was fatally hit by a moped in the Homecrest neighborhood of South Brooklyn. Witnesses report that the driver remained on scene for approximately three minutes before moving his vehicle to the other side of the intersection and fleeing, leaving community members in shock. Officials reported that Xie passed away while receiving hospital care.

In a meeting at the 61st Precinct Wednesday night in response to this situation, Senator Chan stated

“I’m outraged by this. My community is outraged by this… we’re all outraged by this. It is time for accountability”.

Unfortunately, this tragedy is not the first, and unless action is taken, it will not be the last. Despite a recent report from the New York City Department of Transportation citing a record low in traffic-related fatalities during the first half of 2025, the NYPD documented over 230 collisions involving e-bikes during that same period. On the same day of this tragic incident, another individual was killed in another horrific collision in Jamaica, Queens. Another unfortunate example includes an incident that occurred on Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg, where a 3-year-old girl was hit by a high-speed e-bike rider. Thankfully, she only incurred minor injuries and was given appropriate hospital care. Another major point includes the fact that most of these high-speed vehicles are not insured despite the fact that they are going well above the citywide 15-mile-per-hour limit for light vehicles, some nearly the same speed as their full-sized counterparts. These troubling discrepancies, and further similar situations constantly occurring within our city, call for an urgent need for change.

Proposed legislation by the NYS Senate will allow for this change to occur. Senate Bill S2436 will prohibit the sale of ATVs and off-highway motorcycles within the state of NY, and further encourage accountability for high-speed light vehicle drivers. Similarly, new legislation proposed by Assemblymember Michael Novakhov of New York State’s 45th District—set to be named in honor of Xie—seeks to enhance public safety by strengthening driver accountability. The bill would require all vehicles capable of exceeding 25 miles per hour to be registered and insured, enabling law enforcement to more easily identify operators involved in traffic violations or collisions.

Senate Bill S2436 is set to be voted on in the NYS Assembly during the 2026 session.