Driver Charged After Bronx Hit-and-Run Kills E-Bike Rider
Police later arrested Bronx resident Edward Montero after a Feb. 23, 2024 hit-and-run at Melrose Avenue and East 161st Street killed 24-year-old e-bike rider Thierno Balde.
What We Know
Thierno Balde, 24, was riding an e-bike near Melrose Avenue and East 161st Street before 6 a.m. on Feb. 23, 2024. News reports citing police said a driver in a Jeep Grand Cherokee hit him and left the scene; Balde was taken to Lincoln Hospital, where he died. The city crash record lists one cyclist death and records unsafe speed and disregarding a traffic control as contributing factors. Nearly a year later, police arrested Bronx resident Edward Montero and charged him with second-degree manslaughter and leaving the scene without reporting. The New York Post, writing before the arrest and citing surveillance footage, described the person behind the wheel as a woman, while a later amNY report said investigators identified Montero as the driver.
Before dawn in Melrose
The crash happened at about 5:58 a.m. on Feb. 23, 2024, at Melrose Avenue and East 161st Street in the Bronx. The city record lists one person killed: a 24-year-old male bicyclist riding an e-bike. News reports identified him as Thierno Balde.
News reports citing police said Balde was traveling east on East 161st Street when a driver in a Jeep Grand Cherokee, traveling south on Melrose Avenue, hit him and left the scene. Balde was taken to NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln, where he was pronounced dead.
The city record and press accounts do not line up on one movement detail: the city vehicle entry lists the SUV as parked before the crash, while news reports citing police described the driver as traveling south on Melrose Avenue.
Signals, speed, and the crash record
The city record lists Unsafe Speed in the SUV driver's entry and Traffic Control Disregarded in the e-bike rider's entry. Gothamist reported that police said Balde ran a red light; amNY later reported that investigators said Montero had a green light as he drove south on Melrose Avenue.
Thierno Balde was on his way to pray
Mamadou Balde told the Post that the family wanted justice and hoped the driver would come forward, saying, "Have a little bit of conscience."
Police later made an arrest
Gothamist reported the day after the crash that no arrests had been made. Nearly a year later, amNY reported that police arrested Edward Montero, 28, of the Bronx, and charged him with second-degree manslaughter and leaving the scene of an incident without reporting.
The New York Post, writing before the arrest and citing surveillance footage, described the person behind the wheel as a woman. The later amNY report said investigators identified Montero as the driver after months of investigation.
A busy Bronx corridor with a record of harm
The crash happened at Melrose Avenue and East 161st Street in the Bronx. Along the East 161st Street corridor, CrashCountNYC's location context counts 588 crashes, 369 injuries, 28 serious injuries and 2 deaths since 2022.