A 40-year-old man was struck by two vehicles and killed Saturday night in Mott Haven, in a crash that residents say feels grimly familiar for that stretch of road. Police say a tractor-trailer hit the man at East 138th Street and Bruckner Boulevard and kept going, and a taxi then struck him a short time later. The victim was taken to Lincoln Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, and the NYPD has opened an investigation into the collision.
According to News 12 | Bronx, detectives said the tractor-trailer struck the man at about 7 p.m. before fleeing the scene, while the taxi driver remained. Officers brought the victim to Lincoln Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, News 12 | Bronx reported.
Deadly Stretch Of 138th
East 138th Street, the corridor that includes the crash site, has long been flagged by safety advocates and crash data as unusually deadly for its length. Crash Count's neighborhood profile shows multiple recent traffic fatalities in Mott Haven–Port Morris. A Transportation Alternatives analysis highlighted by the Bronx Times found that East 138th ranked among the city's highest death-per-mile corridors, suggesting this was not a freak one-off but part of a broader pattern on the block.
Residents Want Truck Enforcement
Local groups and residents have for years called out the flood of truck traffic slicing through their neighborhood at all hours. They have repeatedly demanded tougher enforcement on designated truck routes and street redesigns aimed at slowing high speeds and curbing late-night crashes. Streetsblog has documented past rallies in Mott Haven where neighbors pushed for targeted enforcement and safer crossings, warning that the existing setup was courting disaster.
Investigation Underway
The NYPD tells News 12 | Bronx that detectives are probing the incident. Investigators say the tractor-trailer fled while the taxi driver stayed on scene and spoke with officers, and that the investigation remains active.
This fatal crash is the latest in a string of collisions that local data and advocates argue point to structural problems on the corridor, with wide lanes, heavy truck volume and limited pedestrian protections all in the mix. Advocates and analysts say that a combination of targeted enforcement, daylighting crosswalks and design changes could help prevent future tragedies on East 138th Street, a block many in the neighborhood now view with a mix of routine caution and weary resignation.
