A 24-year-old man is dead after a two-wheeled device he was riding struck a guardrail near the Macombs Dam Bridge on the Major Deegan Expressway, ejecting him from the vehicle. EMS pronounced him dead at the scene, and police say no arrests have been made as the investigation continues.
According to the NYPD, the man was operating the two-wheeled device northbound near the bridge when he failed to navigate the roadway, struck the guardrail and was thrown from the device, as reported by News12 Bronx. All northbound lanes of the Major Deegan were closed at the Macombs Dam Bridge following the crash. The investigation into exactly what happened remains ongoing, and no arrests had been made as of the latest update.
A separate account of the closure placed the shutdown near Yankee Stadium and East 161st Street, describing the northbound Major Deegan Expressway, or I-87, as fully closed near the bridge after the collision, according to cedarnews.net. That report also said no immediate information had been released about possible injuries, the number of vehicles involved, or when the roadway would reopen — details that stood in contrast to News12's account of a confirmed fatality and guardrail strike. Hoodline could not independently reconcile the two versions.
A Stretch of Highway With a Grim History
The crash adds to a troubling pattern on Bronx highways, where thirteen motorcyclists died between January 2019 and May 2023, six of them on the Major Deegan Expressway alone, per the same Bronx Times analysis. Of those 13 riders, only six were licensed and just five had registered motorcycles, the outlet's reporting notes. Ten wore helmets, but only seven of those helmets met U.S. Department of Transportation standards, underscoring how incomplete safety gear remained a recurring factor in these fatal crashes.
The Major Deegan itself logged 525 crashes, 242 injuries and six fatalities in 2023, according to data cited by A&E Law. Borough-wide, the Bronx saw 10,028 crashes in 2024, including 4,416 that caused injuries and 54 traffic deaths counted by NYC DOT, the same source reports. That death toll fell sharply in 2025, dropping to 33 fatalities — a 39% decline — though the Deegan corridor near Yankee Stadium continues to draw scrutiny.
Other Recent Crashes Near the Same Corridor
The stretch near the Macombs Dam Bridge has seen tragedy before. In early September, a pedestrian in his 40s was struck and killed by an unlicensed driver near the same bridge on the Major Deegan, with the driver later arrested, Bronx Times reported in a separate incident. In August, a three-vehicle crash in Mott Haven sent an SUV over a railing and injured two people around 1:30 a.m. as all three vehicles traveled southbound, according to ABC7 New York; police said no criminality was suspected in that crash.
No further details about the 24-year-old victim's identity have been released, and police have not said whether another vehicle was involved in Saturday's fatal crash. The investigation remains active, and officials have not indicated when the closed lanes near the bridge would reopen to traffic.
