A Brooklyn motorist was charged Tuesday for the gruesome hit-and-run murder of an avid cyclist last July.
Juan Maldonado, 56, was speeding through Williamsburg around 2 a.m. when he ran a red light and swerved into the bike lane, prosecutors said, careening into Queens biking enthusiast Matthew van Ohlen.
Ohlen’s body got caught in the undercarriage of the car, and was dragged some 20 feet as Maldonado fled the scene, authorities said. Part of the incident was captured by a nearby surveillance camera.
Ohlen, 35, later died of blunt-force trauma at Bellevue Hospital.
Maldonado was arraigned Tuesday on a slew of charges, including second-degree manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and leaving the scene of an accident.
Members of the cycling community packed the courtroom in support of their slain friend.
Transportation Alternatives Executive Director Paul Steely White called the crime “heinous,” and said he was “pleased” justice was moving forward.
“A young man who was an active member of Brooklyn’s biking community lost his life because a speeding driver struck him in a designated bike lane and sped away,” Acting Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez said in a statement.
Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Foley set bail at $100G.
Maldonado faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.