By Albert Amateau and Jefferson Siegel
East Village bar owner Ray Deter, 53, was left clinging to life on Mon., June 26, after an early-evening, rush-hour crash with a car at the intersection of Canal St. and West Broadway, police said.
The car, a silver Jaguar, and Deter, riding a black mountain bike, were both eastbound on Canal St. when the cyclist made a sudden left turn onto West Broadway and they collided at 5:21 p.m., police said. The car’s windshield and sunroof were damaged in the crash.
The driver, Anthony Guan, 24, of Chinatown, stopped and was later given a summons for possessing a small amount of marijuana but no criminality was involved in the accident, police said. Deter, who was not wearing a helmet, was taken to Bellevue Hospital in critical condition.
Deter owns dba on First Ave., as well as in Williamsburg and New Orleans. An East Village resident, he and his wife, Catherine Lepp, have two teenage sons.
Bill DiPaola, founder of Time’s Up! the environmental advocacy group, has been a close friend of Deter’s for 20 years.
“He has always been a huge community supporter,” DiPaola said moments after learning of the tragedy. DiPaola said Deter always donated beer for their parties, as well as money to support their cause.
“He’s a kind person who was really amazing for the community. He gave so much,” DiPaola said, adding that Deter rode his bike everywhere.
In a message, dba bar said, “We are reaching out to every one of our patrons and friends to please send your prayers and loving energy to Ray Deter at this time. We believe your healing prayers, and energy and whatever loving means you have, can really help Ray pull through, and this is a request for just that.”
Friends will post updates on Deter’s condition on the dba Facebook page, “DBA East Village.”
