By Christina Santucci
Two men were killed when the motorcycle they were both riding on slammed into the front of a bus on 31st Avenue near 73rd Street in East Elmhurst Sunday evening, police said.
As of Monday afternoon, the NYPD had not released the names of the men, who they said were both Hispanic. One was 25 years old, and no age was available for the second man, a spokesman for the Police Department said.
Nearby residents said the motorcycle sounded like it was going very fast and described the sound of the crash around 8 p.m. as similar to an explosion.
“It was like an F16 was flying and then boom right there,” said 42-year-old Nasir Laskar, who has lived on 31st Avenue for the past 15 years.
Laskar said he as soon as he heard the crash, he called 911 and then rushed outside, where he saw both riders of the motorcycle lying on the ground.
“One is still breathing,” he said. “I tell him, ‘Calm down. It will be OK.’ A few seconds later, he opened his eyes very big and then he closed them.”
The force of the crash was so intense that the front door to the Q47 bus, which had been turning onto 73rd Street, could not be opened right away and passengers had to be removed through the back door, witnesses said.
“The front whole windshield is broken,” Laskar said.
One resident who declined to give her name said emergency responders arrived at the scene very quickly.
“They were trying so hard to revive them,” she said.
Only one of the two riders had been wearing a helmet, Laskar said.
Police said both men were taken to Elmhurst Hospital, where they were pronounced dead. No criminality was suspected in the accident, according to a spokesman for the NYPD.
Laskar complained of frequent accidents on 31st Avenue, where he said there are often children playing.
“Let’s say some kids were here, they could kill some kids,” he said.
Jackson Heights resident Camilo Aguirre, 35, one of several bikers who visited the corner to try to find out the identity of the riders, described the Suzuki motorcycle as a supermoto race bike, which is intended for both the street and dirt.
”It’s all light plastics,” Aguirre said, estimating that the bike must have been going about 60 or 70 miles per hour. “If you started stopping from over there, he should have skidded.”
Reach photo editor Christina Santucci by e-mail at csantucci@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4589.
