Martinez family photo
Alexander Martinez, an electrician and father of three who was commuting by bicycle on Tuesday, was struck and killed by a truck on Queens Blvd. near Hoover Ave. Police are still searching for the hit-and-run driver.
The family of a cyclist killed on his birthday said Thursday that the “Boulevard of Death” can’t remain a perilous place to pedal.
The distraught family of Alexander Martinez, 37, who was slain in a gruesome hit-and-run incident Tuesday morning as the father of three was commuting to work, said the city should redesign the roadway.
“Something needs to be done about that avenue,” said Walter Martinez, the victim’s father. “It’s a tragedy.”
The hard-working electrician was making the 11-mile trek from his Jamaica Estates home to his job in Long Island City when he was hit on Queens Blvd. near Hoover Ave.
His Specialized road bike was left mangled from the impact of the open container tractor-trailer and Martinez died from his injuries shortly after the crash, his family and police said.
“He was my best friend. He can never be replaced,” said George Martinez, 39, the victim’s brother. “The family wants something done.”
The close-knit family are desperate for witnesses to come forward and identify the rogue driver that left the scene and tell police what transpired around 6 a.m. Tuesday.
The family erected a makeshift memorial at the median of the crash site complete with flowers, pictures and birthday balloons.
George Martinez said he wants to make sure that his brother — a baseball fanatic and bird enthusiast — did not die in vain.
“These are the people we’re trying to keep on this earth,” lamented the older brother, speaking of the need to protect hard-working, family oriented people like his brother.
“When all this is done with, I’m going to be an advocate for people who bike,” he said.
Officials with the advocacy group Transportation Alternatives said the perilous thoroughfare, which is one of the few direct east-west routes across Queens, needs a bike lane and other improvements.
“The design in its configuration is really only taking drivers into account,” said Caroline Samponaro, the group’s director of bicycle advocacy. “There’s more than enough room to accommodate all different types of street users safely. It’s plenty wide.”
Queens Blvd. is twelve lanes wide at its widest point.
Cops have yet to make an arrest in the deadly accident. A police car was seen Thursday ticketing drivers exiting the Van Wyck Expressway who failed to pause at the stop sign near Hoover Ave., added after Tuesday’s accident.
Officials with the city Department of Transportation said they have improved the road’s safety with measures such as lowering the speed limit and installing speed monitoring devices.
There were zero pedestrian deaths on Queens Blvd. in 2011, noted an agency spokeswoman.
But that statistic is of little solace to the family, which will be holding a wake on Friday.
Martinez leaves behind two biological children and another girl, Alyssa Kossaris, who he raised since childhood.
“I didn’t even get to say happy birthday to him,” said Kossaris, 18, holding back tears.
With Shayna Jacobs and Bryan Pace
idejohn@nydailynews.com
