Harry Wieder, an activist for gay and disabled rights as well as more accessible transportation, was killed Tuesday night after a taxi struck him on Essex Street, near an intersection on the Lower East Side known for collisions between vehicles and pedestrians. He was 57.

At around 9:45 p.m., Wieder was crossing Essex street between Houston and Stanton following a monthly meeting at Community Board 3, when he was struck by a taxi going north, DNAinfo reports.

A witness told the Lo-Down blog that Wieder, a self-described dwarf and who walks with crutches, appeared to have been standing in between two cars. He then stepped out onto the street, perhaps not seeing the taxi. The taxi swerved, but not in time, the witness said.

Several of Wieder's colleagues on the community board saw the accident and followed the emergency crews to Bellevue Hospital. It was there that Wieder was pronounced dead after several failed resuscitation attempts.

"He was a true Lower East Side personality who definitely made his mark," according to the tribute on Lo-Down.

Wieder had a "combative, roguish nature" and a "penchant for truth," said Betty Adelsen in her 2005 book, "The Lives of Dwarfs: Their Journey from Public Curiosity Toward Social Liberation." His exploits as an activist included an incident in which he was arrested for blocking the Queens Midtown Tunnel.

The area where Wieder was killed has seen some of the highest concentration of crashes between vehicles and pedestrians on the Lower East Side, according to a recent study by Transportation Alternatives.

The police told DNAinfo that they did not think there was any criminal wrongdoing involved in the crash. An investigation is pending.