The widow of a Staten Island bicyclist killed when a passing car struck him believes the driver should be charged in his death.
James Giambalvo, 52, was biking to a nearby grocery store to pick up a meal for Lent on Friday when the driver of an Infiniti struck him near the corner of Wilson and Armstrong Aves. in Great Kills around 10:15 a.m..
The 35-year-old woman driving the car and Giambalvo were heading in the same direction when she clipped him, police said.
The driver remained on the scene while Giambalvo was rushed to Staten Island University Hospital, where he died.
He was not wearing a helmet when he was struck on the familiar road close to home.
“He often rode there,” said widow Jennifer Giambalvo. “That streets and other busy streets, we took our chances. Not wearing a helmet wasn’t a good thing.”
The couple was married for 11 years.
“The greatest guy in the world,” Jennifer Giambalvo, 53, said of her late husband. “Couldn’t meet a better person.”
Giambalvo was born in Brooklyn and worked for the MTA as a track inspector.
“[He was] very sweet and calm and happy,” the woman added. “He liked to laugh a lot.”
The driver who killed Giambalvo did not immediately face criminal charges.
“I do think she should answer,” Jennifer Giambalvo said. “Everyone I know thinks she should answer.”
Still, she acknowledged the crash was an accident.
“Many times I’m driving and I say to myself, ‘Wow, I almost hit that person!’” she said. “Sometimes it’s just a chance, you know?”