Driver Charged After Pedestrian Killed on Henry Hudson Parkway
Police said Luis Acosta hit 23-year-old Victor Jose Benitez near West 153rd Street on May 8, 2022, and the city crash record logged one pedestrian killed on the Henry Hudson Parkway.
What We Know
On May 8, 2022, the city recorded a fatal pedestrian crash on the Henry Hudson Parkway in Manhattan. The Daily News reported that police said Luis Acosta hit 23-year-old Victor Jose Benitez near West 153rd Street, left the scene, and was arrested 11 days later. EMS took Benitez to Harlem Hospital, where he died. Police charged Acosta with leaving the scene of an accident when an injury occurred, and a judge released him without bail at arraignment. The official record describes one sedan traveling south and lists driver inattention or distraction, along with pedestrian error or confusion, as contributing factors.
A Sunday afternoon crossing turned fatal
The city crash record logs the collision at 2:31 p.m. on May 8, 2022, on the Henry Hudson Parkway, with one pedestrian killed and no other injuries recorded.
The Daily News reported that police said Luis Acosta hit Victor Jose Benitez as Benitez crossed the southbound side of the parkway near West 153rd Street in Washington Heights. EMS took Benitez to Harlem Hospital, where he died.
The crash was reported on the parkway near West 153rd Street
The official record places the fatal crash on the Henry Hudson Parkway in Manhattan. The Daily News reported the location as the southbound side near West 153rd Street in Washington Heights.
Police arrested the driver 11 days later
The Daily News reported that police tracked down and arrested Acosta on May 19. Police charged him with leaving the scene of an accident when an injury occurred.
At a brief arraignment the next morning, a Manhattan Criminal Court judge ordered Acosta released without bail, according to the Daily News.
Records cited driver inattention and pedestrian confusion
The official vehicle entry describes a 2013 Ford sedan, occupied by one licensed male driver, going straight ahead south before the crash. The entry lists driver inattention or distraction and pedestrian error or confusion as contributing factors.
The pedestrian record identifies Benitez as a 23-year-old man and describes him as outside an intersection. The Daily News reported that police sources believed Benitez was high on drugs when he ran onto the highway.