Open car door kills Manhatten bicyclist Marcus Ewing, 27, cycling advocacy group says this is all too common

A biker was killed Friday when a Manhattan driver opened a car door and knocked the cyclist into the path of an oncoming truck, police said.

Marcus Ewing, 27, died at Harlem Hospital a short time after the 8 a.m. accident at E. 120th St. and Third Ave.

The force from the sudden impact launched Ewing, of Harlem, in front of an oncoming Boar's Head truck driven by Robert Nunnenkamp, 51, of Port Jefferson, L.I., sources said.

The driver of the car, 44-year-old Antonio Cobb, and Nunnenkamp remained on the scene.

Marcus Ewing

No criminal charges are expected to be filed. Nunnenkamp was given five citations, including no audible alarm and no driver inspection sheet.

Cobb was issued one summons for unsafely exiting a vehicle.

Both men passed Breathalyzer tests at the scene.

Biking advocacy group Transportation Alternatives said fatalities caused by "dooring" are all-too-common.

"At least three people have been killed so far this year because of it," said Caroline Samponaro, director of bicycle advocacy.

"East Harlem has some of the highest rates of bike commuting," she said, adding that upper Manhattan is "in dire need of quality bike infrastructure."

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