Hit-and-run driver kills pedestrian at Melrose and East 157th
A hit-and-run driver first hit Lourdes Camilo, 53, at Melrose Avenue and East 157th Street, where city records list one pedestrian killed on Jan. 13, 2024.
What We Know
On Jan. 13, 2024, city records show one pedestrian, a 53-year-old woman, was killed at Melrose Avenue and East 157th Street in the Bronx. News reports citing police identified her as Lourdes Camilo and said a driver first hit her and fled northbound before a second driver in another Jeep was involved and remained at the scene. The official vehicle records and the press accounts describe the vehicles differently: the records list a northbound 2021 Jeep recorded as a sedan and a southbound 2014 Jeep recorded as an SUV, while the articles describe a white SUV or Jeep SUV first and a gray Jeep Wrangler or another Jeep SUV second. City records list driver inattention or distraction for the northbound driver and say Camilo was crossing against the signal. No arrests had been reported in the reviewed articles.
Police accounts describe a two-driver crash
The city crash record places the fatal crash at Melrose Avenue and East 157th Street at 7:11 p.m. on Jan. 13, 2024, and records one pedestrian killed.
The New York Post and amNY, citing police and surveillance footage, identified the pedestrian as Lourdes Camilo. They reported that a driver first hit her, she was thrown into the path of southbound traffic, and a second driver in another Jeep was involved. Both articles said the first driver left the scene and the second driver remained.
Lourdes Camilo was killed near home
City records identify the person killed as a 53-year-old female pedestrian. The reviewed articles named her as Lourdes Camilo; amNY described her as a Bronx woman from Melrose who was killed just steps from her home.
The articles reported that first responders found Camilo with severe traumatic injuries and that she was pronounced dead after the crash.
Records and reports differ on the vehicle descriptions
The official vehicle records list two male licensed drivers: one traveling north in a 2021 Jeep recorded as a sedan, and one traveling south in a 2014 Jeep recorded as an SUV. Both drivers were recorded as going straight ahead.
The news accounts describe the first driver as being in a white SUV or Jeep SUV and the second driver as being in a gray Jeep Wrangler or another Jeep SUV. The articles said the driver who left was still being sought and that the 53-year-old driver who remained had not been arrested as of publication.
City records list signal and attention factors
The official person record says Camilo was at the intersection and crossing against the signal, with traffic control disregarded and pedestrian confusion recorded. The official vehicle record lists driver inattention or distraction for the northbound driver.
The reviewed articles focus on the police search for the driver who left the scene and do not report any arrests.
Melrose Avenue has a recent record of harm
CrashCountNYC location context places the crash at Melrose Avenue and East 157th Street in the Bronx. For Melrose Avenue in the Bronx, Crash Finder counts 330 crashes, 251 injuries, 14 serious injuries and 4 deaths since 2022.
No arrests were reported in the reviewed coverage
The New York Post reported on Jan. 13, 2024, that no arrests had been made. amNY reported the next day that the hit-and-run driver had not been caught, the driver who remained had not been arrested, and the investigation was ongoing.