Devoted Father of Two Dies After Being Struck by Cyclist on Morning Walk Through Central Park

Richie O’Brien was simply making his morning journey to work when a collision in Central Park left him with devastating head injuries. Four days later, the 41-year-old father of two was dead, leaving behind his wife and two young daughters.

O’Brien was walking through Central Park at around 6:35 a.m. on Sept. 23 on his way to his job as a steamfitter when he was struck by a 32-year-old cyclist traveling northbound. Police said the crash occurred near 84th Street, while a witness later placed it near East 84th Street, close to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The impact sent both men to the pavement. O’Brien suffered severe head trauma and was taken to NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center in critical condition. The cyclist sustained minor injuries and was treated at the scene.

O’Brien died early Sunday, Sept. 27, with his wife, Ronni, by his side, according to his family.

A morning walk that became a family tragedy

Richie O’Brien, 41, in an undated photo with his family. GoFundMe

O’Brien was a member of Local 638 and was working on a project at the nearby Metropolitan Museum of Art. His family described him as a devoted provider who went to work every day to give Ronni and their daughters, Kylie and Mia, the life they deserved.

Kylie is 12 and Mia is 8.

“Although our hearts are broken by this unimaginable loss, Richie’s legacy will live on,” his family said in a fundraiser created after the crash. The family also revealed that O’Brien became an organ donor, allowing others to receive the gift of life even as his own family faced an unimaginable loss.

His brother-in-law, Jason Bullara, also expressed gratitude to the strangers who stopped to help O’Brien immediately after the collision.

Witness Laura Sackler, who had been finishing her morning run near the Metropolitan Museum, said she heard the impact and turned around to see O’Brien and the cyclist on the ground.

According to Sackler, O’Brien was unconscious from the moment of the crash and never regained consciousness. She said he was bleeding heavily as bystanders gathered around him, including a doctor who tried to help.

The cyclist remained at the scene. Sackler described him as visibly shaken and confused, later appearing devastated by what had happened. PEOPLE also reported that the cyclist was treated at the scene and did not require hospitalization.

Witness raises concerns about safety in the park

People are seen cycling in Central Park. Stephen Yang for the New York Post

Sackler said the response from people in the park was not uniformly sympathetic. While several pedestrians and runners formed a circle around the injured O’Brien, she recalled that some cyclists passing the scene yelled at them to move because they were blocking the way.

As a runner herself, Sackler said she supports cyclists, runners and pedestrians sharing Central Park. But she also raised concerns about speed and the way some cyclists use the park for training.

The tragedy has also renewed discussion about safety on Central Park’s roadways. The Central Park Conservancy has called for additional safety measures, including making the existing 15-mph speed limit permanent and improving enforcement. It has also supported better bicycle infrastructure around the park so commuters and delivery riders have safer routes that do not require them to travel through the park.

The NYPD’s Highway District Collision Investigation Squad is continuing to investigate the crash. Police have not publicly identified the cyclist or announced any charges against him.

Remembered as a devoted father and hardworking steamfitter

Richie O’Brien, 41, was killed while walking to work. Ronni O’Brien / Facebook

Brian Hunt, president of the steamfitters’ union, said O’Brien represented the kind of worker and colleague others could look up to.

He described O’Brien as a positive influence on those around him and said his loss had left the union community reeling.

“He was an example of what a good steamfitter is supposed to be,” Hunt said, noting that O’Brien, like countless other New Yorkers, rose early each morning and went to work helping build and maintain the city.

Casey Bartels, a friend and co-worker, similarly remembered O’Brien as a great father whose family was at the center of everything he did. Bartels said the loss had completely changed the lives of Ronni and their daughters.

For the people who knew O’Brien, the tragedy is therefore about far more than a fatal collision in Central Park. It is the loss of a husband, father, colleague and friend who had set out for an ordinary workday and never made it there.

Even in his final moments, his family said, O’Brien was giving something to others through organ donation.

His death has left Ronni, Kylie and Mia facing a future without the man they described as the heart of their family.