Williamsburg driver faces manslaughter charge after fatal bus crash.
Michael Rivera, whom prosecutors later charged, allegedly ran a red light and collided with an MTA bus at Harrison Avenue and Lorimer Street at 9:46 p.m. on Feb. 26, 2024; the official record lists one person killed and two injured.
Location reported in Open Data.
What We Know
At 9:46 p.m. on Feb. 26, 2024, the driver of a southbound Mercedes sedan collided with an eastbound MTA bus at Harrison Avenue and Lorimer Street in Williamsburg. Police reports said the driver ran a red light, and the official record lists traffic-control disregard for the sedan. The record counts one person killed and two injured. Accounts differ on what mounted the sidewalk after impact: Brooklyn Paper reported that the Mercedes mounted the curb and hit a CitiBike rack, while the New York Post reported that the bus mounted the sidewalk and hit a Citi Bike kiosk. Prosecutors later identified the driver as Michael Rivera and charged him with second-degree manslaughter and seven other counts.
Police reports say the driver ran a red light.
Police reports said the driver of the southbound Mercedes sedan ran a red light at Harrison Avenue and Lorimer Street before colliding with an eastbound MTA bus. The official record lists a 2010 Mercedes sedan traveling south and a 2018 New Flyer bus traveling east, and records traffic-control disregard for the sedan.
Reports differ about the sidewalk sequence. Brooklyn Paper, citing police, reported that the Mercedes mounted the curb and hit a CitiBike rack. The New York Post, also citing police, reported that the bus mounted the sidewalk and hit a Citi Bike kiosk before Alex Caba-Gutierrez was ejected from the Mercedes.
The passenger was taken to Bellevue Hospital.
Brooklyn Paper identified the deceased passenger as Alex Caba-Gutierrez, who lived about a mile from the crash site, and reported that he was ejected from the Mercedes's back seat. The official record lists his age as 32; Brooklyn Paper reported him as 33 and later said the crash happened on his 33rd birthday. The paper reported that he was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The official record counts two injured people. Brooklyn Paper reported that the 31-year-old bus driver and a 41-year-old bus passenger were taken to hospitals in stable condition.
Rivera was arrested and indicted months later.
Brooklyn Paper reported that Michael Rivera, 31, of Williamsburg, was arrested on May 1 and arraigned on May 21, 2024, on an eight-count indictment. Prosecutors alleged that he drove above 49 mph in a 25 mph zone and ran multiple red lights. The paper also reported prosecutors' allegation that surveillance footage showed Rivera approach Caba-Gutierrez after the crash and then leave the scene.
The charges included second-degree manslaughter, second-degree assault, criminally negligent homicide, leaving the scene without reporting, second-degree reckless endangerment, reckless driving, excessive speed, and failure to obey a traffic signal.
Where
HARRISON AVENUE and LORIMER STREET