Kyle Schreiber, of Hauppauge, charged in hit-run that killed Peter Seo, of Queens

A Hauppauge man was arrested Tuesday after police say he drove a tractor trailer in a Queens hit-and-run crash that resulted in the death of an 81-year-old man.

Kyle Schreiber, 27, was charged with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death, police said. He pleaded not guilty during his arraignment Tuesday in Queens County Supreme Court and was released on his own recognizance.

Schreiber's lawyer said Wednesday that the crash occurred during a "torrential downpour," and that his client was unaware at the time that he had hit anyone.  

On Dec. 28, at 6:12 a.m., NYPD responded to a vehicle collision near Northern and Parsons boulevards in Flushing.

Officers discovered that Peter Seo, 81, of Flushing, was operating an electric bicycle traveling east on Northern Boulevard in the left turn lane. Seo then made a left into the westbound lanes of Northern Boulevard and collided with a 2015 International flatbed tractor trailer that was traveling west on Northern Boulevard, police said.

The tractor trailer continued west on Northern Boulevard and did not remain on scene, police said.

EMS responded to the location and pronounced Seo dead. 

Schreiber's lawyer, Jason Russo, of the Garden City firm Gaitman & Russo, said in an interview Wednesday that his client "had no idea whatsoever that he came into contact with anybody."

At the time of the crash, Schreiber was driving a crane truck the size of an 18-wheeler in a storm with "gale-force winds," Russo said. "He was as shocked as everybody else to learn that someone was driving an electric bike during a torrential downpour such as this was." 

Russo said Schreiber is a veteran professional driver who has cooperated fully with authorities. 

National Weather Service records show that on Dec. 28, the day of the crash, more than an inch of rain fell at LaGuardia Airport, about four miles from the crash site. 

Schreiber is due back in court May 2. 

With Nicholas Spangler