Driver Jerry Gelle sentenced for fatal Bed-Stuy hit-and-run
The Return
At about 3:07 a.m. on October 10, 2024, Jerry Gelle drove through a red light at Bedford and Lafayette avenues in Brooklyn, fatally striking 49-year-old pedestrian Felix Mendez before fleeing, according to the city crash record and prosecutors.
Location reported in Open Data.
What We Know
Jerry Gelle drove north on Bedford Avenue through a red light at Lafayette Avenue early on October 10, 2024, striking 49-year-old Felix Mendez in the crosswalk, prosecutors said. Gelle fled without stopping. Mendez, who lived nearby, died after being taken to a hospital. Prosecutors said surveillance video showed Gelle driving about 53 mph and running multiple red lights before the crash. He pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death, and was sentenced to five to 10 years in prison. Mendez's friend said he had been working to build a home in Puebla, Mexico.
Gelle drove through the intersection and fled.
Prosecutors said Jerry Gelle drove north on Bedford Avenue through a steady red light and struck Felix Mendez in the middle of the crosswalk at Lafayette Avenue. Gelle continued without stopping to help or report the crash. Mendez, 49, died after being taken to NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital.
The crossing was close to Mendez's home.
The crash occurred at Bedford and Lafayette avenues in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Mendez lived on Lafayette Avenue, and the Daily News reported that he was crossing just down the block from his home.
Mendez had plans to return to Mexico.
Felix Mendez came to the United States around 1999. His friend and former restaurant coworker Alejandro Flores said Mendez had spent three years working to fund a house in Puebla, Mexico, and hoped to return there to raise pigs. Mendez's nephew said Mendez had a son in California and four siblings in Mexico.
Reports differ on the Jeep's color.
The Daily News described a white SUV in surveillance footage. Prosecutors identified the vehicle Gelle drove as a gray 2024 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The accounts give different colors.
Prosecutors traced the driving before the crash.
Prosecutors said surveillance video showed Gelle driving about 53 mph, running multiple red lights and driving in bike lanes before reaching Lafayette Avenue. The city crash record also attributes unsafe speed and disregard of a traffic control to the driver.
Investigators found the Jeep; Gelle went to prison.
Prosecutors said Gelle tried to clean the Jeep's interior and abandoned it about four blocks away. Investigators recovered DNA from its gear shift that linked him to the case, and police arrested him in July 2025. He pleaded guilty on March 11, 2026, to second-degree manslaughter and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death. In May 2026, a judge sentenced him to five to 10 years in prison.