Police Search For ATV Rider Who Killed Queens Cyclist

A 65-year-old man died Saturday morning from injuries sustained when an all-terrain vehicle operator knocked him off his bike days earlier, in an apparently deliberate act of aggression.

Eucario Xelo was riding home to Brooklyn from work at Jorge's Restaurant in Ridgewood, Queens between midnight and 1 a.m. on Aug. 28th, when a group of ATV and motorcycle riders pulled up behind him near the intersection of Seneca Avenue and Woodbine Street. According to the NYPD, the leading ATV rider "veered towards the bicyclist while simultaneously slowing down [and] knocking the bicyclist to the ground."

Police found Xelo lying in the street, "unconscious and unresponsive," and an EMS crew arrived to take him to Elmhurst Hospital, where he remained in critical condition until he was pronounced dead on Saturday.

The ATV riders, meanwhile, continued on their way without stopping, reportedly menacing another cyclist mere blocks away. Luckily, that person was not badly injured.

Xelo reportedly had his lights on, making himself visible to motorists. The NYPD believes the ATV driver acted intentionally.

"I hope they catch them [the ATV riders]," Augustina Hernandez, Xelo's estranged ex-wife, told the Daily News. "I hope there's justice because if they did that to an older person they could keep doing it to other people. They're going to keep doing it until they receive their punishment."

New York state bans the use of ATVs on public highways and public land, unless the area has been specially designated for ATV use and signage indicates that exception. Regardless of that caveat—which doesn't apply to New York City streets, anyway—it is always illegal to operate an ATV in a "careless, reckless, or negligent manner." The NYPD Collision Investigation Squad is currently seeking the driver, who could reportedly face vehicular manslaughter charges.