Port Jefferson Station dad struck and killed by cyclist in Central Park; GoFundMe tops $160K

Richie O’Brien, a Local 638 steamfitter and father of two girls, was walking to work at the Met when he was struck

Help is pouring in for the wife and two young daughters of a Port Jefferson Station man who was struck and killed by a cyclist while walking to work in Central Park.

Richard “Richie” O’Brien, 41, was crossing through the park about 6:30 a.m. on Wednesday, headed to a steamfitting job at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. A 32-year-old cyclist riding north on East Drive near East 84th Street struck him, according to police and his family, the New York Post reported.

The collision threw O’Brien to the pavement. He suffered severe head trauma and was rushed to Weill Cornell Medical Center, where he underwent two brain surgeries, according to his aunt, Luann Moskowitz, who posted updates on his condition on Threads. He never regained consciousness.

‘I heard the impact‘

Laura Sackler was finishing her morning run behind the Met when she heard the crash.

“I heard the impact and turned around, and tragically, Richie and the cyclist were both on the ground,” she told the Post. “Richie unfortunately was unconscious from that moment forward and never gained consciousness.”

The cyclist sat up, visibly shaken, and stayed at the scene. Bystanders, including a doctor, gathered around O’Brien to help.

“He was just in disbelief,” Sackler said of the rider. “He was like, ‘I can’t believe this.'”

Sackler said some passing cyclists yelled at the group to get out of their way while they tended to O’Brien. She said an ambulance arrived after about 20 minutes.

A runner with many friends who cycle, Sackler said she supports shared use of the park but believes speed has become a serious problem on its drives. “They’re really using it like a trackway,” she said.

Police said the cyclist was treated at the scene and declined an ambulance. He has not been identified, and no arrests have been made. The NYPD’s Collision Investigation Squad is reviewing the case.

Such deaths are rare in the park. The last time a non-electric cyclist killed a pedestrian in Central Park was 2014, according to reports.

Bartels said O’Brien lived for his wife and daughters. “Everything he did was for his family,” Bartels told CBS New York.

That giving spirit carried through to the end. O’Brien donated three of his organs before his death, his brother-in-law, Jason Bullara, wrote in a Reddit post thanking the strangers who stayed with O’Brien in the park.

“Even at the end of his life, he was able to give other people a chance at theirs,” Bullara wrote. “He was, quite simply, the best person I knew.”

Family faces what’s next

Ronni O’Brien has been a stay-at-home mom to the couple’s daughters, Kylie, 12, and Mia, 8.

She now faces “the uncertainty of having to support her family without Richie’s income,” Bartels wrote.

Bartels in the GoFundMe said the contributions will cover immediate expenses and, they hope, “provide some financial security and help ease the burden of their mortgage as Ronni navigates life as a single mother.”

“We are incredibly grateful for the love, prayers, and support that have surrounded Richie and his family throughout this heartbreaking journey,” the page reads.

_{Top: Richard “Richie” O’Brien with his wife and their two girls (courtesy of GoFundMe).}