A 68-year-old man was killed early Monday when a white car struck him at the intersection of East Tremont Avenue and Park Avenue in the Bronx's Mount Hope section and sped off without stopping. The collision happened at approximately 5:55 a.m., with the vehicle traveling northbound on Park Avenue when it hit the man, according to police. Responding NYPD officers pronounced him dead at the scene.
According to News 12 Bronx, the victim's identity had not yet been released. CBS News also reported that a man was killed during a hit-and-run in the Bronx, police said. No arrests had been announced as of Monday.
A Felony If the Driver Is Caught
Under New York law, fleeing the scene of a crash that results in death without stopping to report it is charged under Vehicle and Traffic Law Section 600(2), a Class D felony, according to the Law Office of Taran M. Provost. The offense carries a potential sentence of up to seven years in state prison and fines ranging from $2,000 to $5,000. State law requires drivers involved in a crash causing personal injury to stop immediately, present identification and contact police.
Cracking a case like this one is far from guaranteed. Fatal hit-and-run investigations across the city fall to the NYPD Highway District's Collision Investigation Squad, which historically clears only between 25 and 29 percent of such cases, per Police1. Investigators typically rely on video canvassing and matching vehicle debris left at the scene to trace drivers who flee.
Fatal Hit-and-Run in the Bronx
Monday's crash came just over a week after, on September 13, a female pedestrian was fatally struck on Harlem River Drive near High Bridge by a dark-colored sedan whose driver fled northbound, as Hoodline previously reported.
In a July 20 incident, the Bronx District Attorney announced the indictment of a 26-year-old driver on three counts of attempted murder after he allegedly drove onto an East Tremont Avenue sidewalk and ran over three women following a dispute, according to FOX 5 New York.
The Investigation Continues
The crash comes as New York City continues its Vision Zero efforts.
It remains unclear whether investigators have recovered surveillance footage or license-plate reader data that could help trace the white vehicle involved in Monday's crash.
