Off-duty cop killed in NYC motorcycle accident

An off duty high-ranking NYPD cop died in the Bronx after a garbage truck making a left turn hit his motorcycle. Around 8:15 am on Monday morning, 56 year old Michael McGrath, was riding his bike south on East Tremont Ave when a dump truck making a left turn onto Waterbury Avenue hit him. He was rushed to the hospital where he later died from his injuries. The driver of the truck stayed at the scene of the accident and wasn’t immediately charged. Inspector McGrath was the commanding officer of the NYPD’s Strategic Services Division. He was in charge of the department’s cadet program providing internships and police training for college students interested in a law enforcement career.

The accident occurred less than 10 days after a 62 year old e-biker suffered critical head injury after colliding with a garbage truck in Gowanus, Brooklyn. The accident was pretty similar to the one that killed Inspector Mc Grath. The dump truck struck the e-biker while making a left turn from third Ave onto 12th Street. The driver was a 52 year old off-duty firefighter working an authorized second job.

Hell on Wheels

Private garbage trucks have a bad reputation in New York City. They are notorious for ignoring road regulations as well as their surroundings. Studies by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration have found that private New York garbage trucks are involved in three times more accidents than private garbage trucks in San Francisco, Seattle or Los Angeles.

Last year, after an off-the-book worker and a pedestrian were killed by garbage trucks belonging to the Bronx Company Sanitation Salvage, an investigation by  Voice of America and ProPublica highlighted the brutal practices of the Bronx company and the deadly world of NYC private garbage collection.  In October 2018, the NYPD organized a week long crackdown on private garbage trucks. Several trucks were removed from circulation and hundred of summons were issued. According to the police, every vehicle stopped had a violation. In November 2018 Sanitation Salvage was forced to shut down after the city suspended its license a few months earlier.