{"id":170839,"date":"2025-06-09T17:48:11","date_gmt":"2025-06-09T17:48:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/170839\/"},"modified":"2025-06-09T17:48:11","modified_gmt":"2025-06-09T17:48:11","slug":"someone-is-going-to-get-killed-kite-strings-across-bike-path-leave-new-york-cyclists-with-severe-injuries-including-slashed-forehead-and-throat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/170839\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cSomeone is going to get killed\u201d: Kite strings across bike path leave New York cyclists with severe injuries, including slashed forehead and throat"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two New York cyclists have suffered severe injuries after colliding with an almost invisible kite string believed to be left over on a bike trail from the \u201cdangerous\u201d sport of kite fighting, slicing through one rider\u2019s throat and slashing another across her face and hands.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The incident occurred last weekend as a group of cyclists was crossing the Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge from Rockaway to Marine Park in Queens.<\/p>\n

Robert Hillebrand, who runs the bike touring company Freewheelin\u2019 Bike Tours, suffered a deep slash to his throat and has been unable to speak since the incident, requiring blood transfusions and emergency surgery.\u00a0Gothamist<\/a> reports that he still remains in the intensive care unit at Kings County Hospital.<\/p>\n

Joey Eichler, one of Hillebrand\u2019s friends, said: \u201cIt was an incredible amount of blood. It was an image that will stay with me, the look of someone who just had their throat cut.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"RobertRobert Hillebrand, cyclist injured by kite strings (credit: CBS News)<\/p>\n

Jennifer Noble, another cyclist in the group, received stitches and suffered a broken finger. She told CBS News<\/a>: \u201cIt hit my upper lip and my nose, and then it cut through my forehead. The string also cut through the muscle of my index finger and my helmet\u2019s temple strap. It looked like a movie. Like it looked fake. There was just so much blood.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then I just hear screaming behind me. And it hit my friend who was behind me in the throat and cut his throat open.\u201d<\/p>\n

> “They’re so bad”: Donald Trump promises to scrap “dangerous” New York bike lanes and “kill” congestion charge<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Noble thanked the onlookers who sprang into action, bandaging her finger and applying pressure to her friend\u2019s neck. \u201cHe\u2019s not able to work. He\u2019s going to have a lot of medical bills,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

\"JenniferJennifer Noble, cyclist injured by kite strings (credit: CBS News)<\/p>\n

She herself has been forced to return to the emergency room for ongoing pain in her finger: \u201cLooks like there are bone fragments in the joint, which is why I\u2019m having so much pain now. It tore through me. It just seems really horrifically, dangerously negligent to have this stuff out there in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Julian Rose, a 43-year-old cook and woodworker, said he was behind Hillebrand when the string struck him. Rose described it as a yellow nylon string that was stretched across the road.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey collected a string,\u201d Rose said. \u201cBut it\u2019s not clearly determined that that was the specific string or not.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kite fighting is an activity which involves participants flying kites equipped with strings coated with powdered glass or other abrasives in an attempt to cut down their opponents\u2019 kites. The practice has long been blamed for littering areas around Jamaica Bay in New York\u00a0with hazardous string, with locals having repeatedly raised concerns.<\/p>\n

Danny Mundy, president of the Broad Channel Civic Association, told Gothamist<\/a> that his own father was injured by kite string in 2022. \u201cHe was on a bike trail by [Broad Channel American Park],\u201d he said. \u201cHe couldn\u2019t see it and it hit him in the throat and he ended up with a laceration.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also added that local waterfowl have been killed after becoming entangled. \u201cIt\u2019s absolutely dangerous and unacceptable. We can\u2019t do this no more because someone is going to get killed.\u201d<\/p>\n

A NYPD spokesperson confirmed that no criminality was determined in the incident, however, the city\u2019s parks department said that kite fighting is banned in all parks and the matter is under investigation.<\/p>\n

\"BikeBike path on Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge (credit: Google Street View)<\/p>\n

Things haven\u2019t been great for New York cyclists in the last few months. In February, President Donald Trump pledged to \u201cget rid of the bike lanes\u201d and \u201ckill\u201d congestion pricing<\/a>, claiming that reduced traffic was bad for business and a sign that \u201cno one\u2019s coming to the city.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey should get rid of the bike lanes and the sidewalks in the middle of the street,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re so bad. They\u2019re dangerous. These [electric] bikes go at 20 miles an hour. They\u2019re whacking people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the NYPD\u2019s decision to start issuing criminal summonses instead of civil fines<\/a> to cyclists who roll through stop signs or red lights has come under intense scrutiny and criticism.<\/p>\n

Ben Furnas, executive director of Transportation Alternatives, said: \u201cThis is an obscene escalation from the police department, and not one that\u2019s grounded in real safety, data, or best practices. We know what works \u2014 building the bike lanes and street improvement projects that corridors like Broadway need \u2014 not suddenly locking up people on bikes.\u201d<\/p>\n

>\u00a0NYPD Commissioner\u2019s mum launches \u201canti e-bike\u201d tirade \u2014 on same day police crackdown on cyclists quietly launched by daughter<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

There are also serious concerns about racial and class inequalities. Attorney Steve Vaccaro warned that undocumented riders could face deportation risks by being forced into criminal courtrooms. \u201cForcing them to go to a criminal courthouse\u2026 it\u2019s problematic,\u201d he said, bluntly describing courthouses as \u201ca place to round up\u00a0deportees.\u201d<\/p>\n

Further criticism has come via legal action. Oliver Casey Esparza, a cyclist ticketed in October for crossing with a walk signal \u2014 something legal for bikes in NYC since 2019 \u2014 has\u00a0sued the NYPD, accusing it of misapplying the law and demanding compensation<\/a>\u00a0for wrongfully penalised cyclists.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Two New York cyclists have suffered severe injuries after colliding with an almost invisible kite string believed to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":170840,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4104],"tags":[4230,79,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-170839","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-cycling","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114654668857898348","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170839","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=170839"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170839\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/170840"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=170839"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=170839"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=170839"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}