The estate of the New Jersey cyclist who was killed when a truck driver rammed a rental truck down a Manhattan bike path last month, leaving seven others dead and a dozen more injured, is suing New York City.
In a notice of claim filed Tuesday, the family of Darren Drake alleged that the city, its departments of parks and transportation and the Hudson River Park Trust knew that cars could and had gotten on the Hudson River Greenway's bike path before Sayfullo Habibullaevic Saipov's alleged rampage on Oct. 31, and didn't do enough to keep cyclists and pedestrians safe ahead of the attack.
Drake, a 32-year-old project manager for Moody's Investors Service at the World Trade Center, was out for a bike ride between meetings that day when police said Saipov's truck hit and killed him. Five Argentinians celebrating a graduation anniversary, a 31-year-old Belgian national, Anne Laure Decadt, and Nicholas Cleves, of Manhattan, also died in the attack.
According to Tuesday's claim, Drake's family seeks unspecified monetary damages. News 4 has reached out to the city Law Department seeking comment.
Police said after the attack that Saipov, 29, told investigators he planned the attack for a year and rented a truck to practice turning onto the bike path a week ahead of time. He also said he was inspired to carry out the attack after watching ISIS videos, according to police, and asked to have the terror group's flag displayed in his hospital room after being shot by an NYPD officer as he ran from his crashed truck with a BB and paint gun in each hand.
Saipov was indicted on terror and murder charges on Tuesday.
