A 62-year-old man has died from injuries he suffered when a van driver pinned him against a box truck on a narrow East Village street, and the man charged in connection with the crash could soon face a far more serious felony. Wilson Compton was crushed in the parking lane of St. Marks Place near First Avenue on September 15 and later died at Bellevue Hospital, according to authorities.
Compton, who lived in South Jamaica, Queens, was standing between a box truck and a 2017 Ram van in the parking lane when the van driver suddenly accelerated around 5:39 p.m., pinning him against the truck, as reported by the New York Daily News. The driver reversed and freed Compton before fleeing the scene on foot, the outlet reported, leaving the 62-year-old with severe injuries to his lower extremities. Medics rushed him to Bellevue Hospital, which operates as lower Manhattan's Level 1 Trauma Center and manages more than 103,000 emergency department visits a year, according to NYC Health + Hospitals. Compton ultimately died there from his injuries.
Lester Andrews, 51, was arrested the following day, September 16, and charged with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in serious injury, a Class E felony. He pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court on September 17 and was released without bail, per the Daily News account of the proceedings.
Andrews Released After Arraignment
Andrews was released after his arraignment. By Andrews' arraignment, Compton had died, and Andrews faced a charge of leaving the scene resulting in serious injury.
Compton's death now changes the legal calculus. Prosecutors can present evidence to a grand jury to seek an indictment with upgraded charges, such as a Class D felony for leaving the scene resulting in death or criminally negligent homicide, once a victim dies from crash injuries, a process outlined in past Manhattan cases reported by Newsday. Under New York Vehicle and Traffic Law, leaving the scene of an incident that results in death is a Class D felony carrying up to seven years in state prison and fines between $2,000 and $5,000, per the Lebedin Kofman LLP.
A Narrow Corridor With a History of Close Calls
St. Marks Place between First Avenue and Avenue A is a dense East Village commercial strip known for narrow parking lanes, heavy foot traffic, outdoor dining sheds, and frequent commercial deliveries, conditions that leave little room for error when trucks and vans jockey for space. The same block made headlines in August when a man was beaten with a blunt object outside an eatery there, underscoring the corridor's reputation as a flashpoint for trouble.
Andrews was arrested within 24 hours of the crash.
Part of a Troubling September for East Village Traffic Deaths
Compton's death adds to a grim stretch for the neighborhood. Just three days after the St. Marks Place crash, a 15-year-old girl was killed and a 13-year-old girl was injured when a large truck struck their shared Citi Bike at East 14th Street and First Avenue, according to prior Hoodline reporting. That stretch of East 14th Street was designated a Transit and Truck Priority corridor by the city's Department of Transportation back in 2019, concentrating heavy commercial truck traffic near First Avenue.
The NYPD's Collision Investigation Squad performed a reconstruction at the fatal teen crash.
Whether Andrews will ultimately face an upgraded felony remains uncertain.
