What is most shocking is that the dog’s owner ended up trying to save the very cyclist who had just collided with his pet.
The accident occurred shortly after 8 in the morning in Central Park, New York, near 84th Street and East Drive. The 71-year-old man was riding a bicycle and wearing a helmet when he collided with a golden retriever that was loose on the road.
The impact caused him to fall violently to the ground. While emergency services were on their way, the dog’s owner stayed at the scene and tried to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The cyclist was taken to NewYork-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Hospital, where his death was eventually confirmed.
The golden retriever, on the other hand, was unharmed. And there’s an important detail: although Central Park allows dogs to be off-leash between 6 and 9 in the morning in certain areas, they must be kept on a short leash at all times on the park’s interior roads.
So far, police have neither issued a fine nor filed charges against the dog’s owner, and they continue to investigate what happened. A collision lasting just seconds ended up costing a man his life during a walk in one of the world’s most famous parks.