BMW driver charged in crash that killed Bronx football coach
Coach D
A BMW driver collided with a northbound pickup and then hit pedestrian Dwight Downer, 60, at Eastchester Road and Givan Avenue, according to police accounts; the official record lists the crash at 12:07 a.m. on Nov. 30, 2024.
Location reported in Open Data.
What We Know
Police accounts said a BMW driver traveling east on Eastchester Road collided with a northbound pickup at Givan Avenue, then hit parked cars and Downer, who was standing beside a Nissan. Other reports described a tow truck running a red light and hitting the BMW, while the Bronx Times reported a police finding that the BMW driver ran the light. Police later charged the pickup driver, identified as Orville Berry, with leaving the scene, and charged the BMW driver, identified as Sheydon McLean or McClean in reports, with manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide.
A chain of impacts followed the first collision
In the police account reported by Norwood News, a 24-year-old man driving a 2013 BMW east on Eastchester Road collided with a northbound pickup on Givan Avenue. The account says the BMW driver then hit a parked Acura MDX, a parked Nissan Murano, and Downer, who was standing beside the Nissan, before hitting a parked Honda Accord and Toyota Camry.
News 12 and Norwood News reported that EMS took Downer to Jacobi, where he was pronounced dead. The official record counts one pedestrian killed and one motorist injured; Norwood News reported that the BMW driver remained at the scene and was treated for minor injuries.
Accounts differ on the first impact and red light
Police accounts reported by Norwood News describe a BMW driver colliding with a pickup driver. The Bronx Times reported that police determined the BMW driver allegedly ran a red light before the collision. News 12 reported witnesses' account that a tow truck driver ran a red light and hit the BMW; a later News 12 report described surveillance video as showing that sequence. The reports differ on whether the other vehicle was a pickup or a tow truck.
The official record classifies the northbound vehicle as a 2024 GMC pickup. It lists disregarding traffic control and inattention or distraction for that vehicle's driver, and inattention or distraction and unsafe speed for the BMW driver. The record does not resolve the different published accounts.
A coach remembered by his community
Downer was a father of two and served as a correction officer at Rikers Island for 27 years before retiring, his family told the Daily News. He volunteered with the Bronx Buccaneers and DeWitt Clinton High School football programs for more than a decade, mentoring hundreds of young athletes, the Bronx Times reported.
His sister Karen Green remembered his cooking and friendships: "He loved life. Every Super Bowl he would cook. He had a large circle of friends. People loved him." Family members also said Downer had advocated for safer streets at the intersection for years, after a car crashed into his front yard in 2017. A vigil at Williamsbridge Oval brought together players, coaches, family and friends.
Both drivers later faced charges
Norwood News reported that police arrested Orville Berry, 27, on March 13, 2025, and charged him with leaving the scene resulting in death and third-degree aggravated unlicensed operation. The Daily News identified Berry as the pickup driver who fled. Norwood News's May report spelled his surname Barry.
On May 8, 2025, police charged the BMW driver with second-degree manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and driving without a license. Norwood News identified him as Sheydon McLean; the Daily News spelled his surname McClean. The reports say the BMW driver remained at the scene. Both men are presumed innocent unless and until convicted.
Where
EASTCHESTER RD and GIVAN AVE