Little Egg Harbor, NJ Man Dies in Electric Bike Crash
A 33-year-old Little Egg Harbor man died Wednesday when he apparently lost control of the electric bike he was riding and crashed into traffic.
Toms River Police say that just after 8 a.m. Wednesday, they were called to Rt. 37 East and River Drive for a motor vehicle accident involving an electric bike.
Police say their investigation showed that an unidentified Little Egg Harbor man was riding his electric bike westbound on the shoulder of Rt. 37 East when he made a sudden left turn into traffic and was struck by a vehicle in the center lane of the highway.
The driver of the other vehicle involved in the crash remained at the scene.
The bicyclist suffered severe injuries and was taken to Community Medical Center by Toms River EMS where he was later pronounced. The accident remains under investigation by the Toms River Traffic Safety Unit.
The man's identity has not been released by the police.
A recent study has found that the rate of accidents involving e-bikes worldwide is significantly higher than when on traditional bikes.
In a study of 553 e-bike collisions, 31% were caused by the rider losing control and 25% were caused by driver error.
Approximately 90% of reported incidents with e-bikes or e-scooters in 2019 in NYC involved rider injury.
