Are most bicyclists in Manhattan stupid? (A bicyclist accidentally killed a woman in Central Park.)

{{{image taken from the NY Post}}}

The last mayor of NY City (a mayor is the leader of a city) encouraged people to buy and use bicycles.  Now you see people bicycling all over the place.

Unfortunately, it seems that most bicycle riders in Manhattan are, basically, STUPID. They do not pay attention to traffic signs or lights, they ride on the sidewalks, they ride in the wrong direction, they ride dangerously fast etc. In fact, bicyclists often hurt people in Manhattan (Manhattan is the central 'borough' of New York City - the other boroughs are Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx and Staten Island).

Here is a story about a guy who literally killed a woman with his bicycle (he was riding too fast and ran into her).  What's really shocking is that after he killed her, the police let him go home. They, apparently, didn't find anything to be wrong with a bicycle rider killing a woman. This is typical New York City police behavior.  If you are drinking a can of beer outside of your house, they will arrest you, but if you kill a woman with your bicycle, they don't do anything.

Here's a good article:

http://nypost.com/2014/09/20/central-park-cyclist-veered-into-wrong-lanes-before-tragic-crash/

Vocabulary to help you understand the article:

to veer into - to turn into

tragic - something horrible involving the loss of human life

to plow - to drive forcefully into something

brain-dead - her body is alive but her brain is no longer functioning

a speed-demon - someone who drives too fast (a demon is a devil, like Satan)

to zoom down - to move in a downward direction very fast 

pedestrian - people who walk are pedestrians

a vehicle - a car

law enforcement - police

barreling - moving incredibly fast with a lot of force. A barrel is a round, large container. If you push it on its side it will roll when you push it.

A barrel ---> 

restricted for - saved for children and people who were walking

to swerve - to turn quickly in a curving manner

the mid-60s - the streets in NYC go up so this was between 60 and 69th streets

diagonal - not a straight line, an angled line

the curb - the raised area between the sidewalk and the street

a ventilator - something that helps you breathe

1010 WINS exec - she had a high level job at the NY radio station called: 1010 WINS

saxophone -

to pedal - to move your feet to make the bicycle go forward

to slam into - to hit something with great force

frustrated - an emotional feeling when you can't solve a problem

conceded - admitted, stated

to boast - if you boast about something, you are proud of it and want people to know it (i.e. Bob often boasts that he went to Columbia University.)

blazing speeds - fast speeds

precise - very close

All systems go - this means, "I'm ready!"

the speed limit - this is as fast as you are allowed to go

sprints - quick runs

to brake - to stop your bike or car

he had not been charged -  the police had not arrested him or taken him into custody - the police let him go home

precarious - uncertain, risky

a summons...reckless homicide - he could get a ticket and have to pay an amount of money or he could be charged with 'reckless homicide' which means he killed someone while acting stupidly

confiscated - taken away

evidence - proof that something happened, something which shows that an event happened