Driver Dies After Police Pursuit Ends in Fiery Inwood Crash
Francisco Guzman Parra was killed at about 4:57 a.m. on April 2, 2025, near Dyckman Street and the Henry Hudson Parkway after two NYPD officers pursued the stolen Honda CRV he drove and he crashed into a building, according to city crash data and news reports.
What We Know
Francisco Guzman Parra was identified as the driver killed in Inwood on April 2, 2025. City crash data records one motorist killed at Dyckman Street and the Henry Hudson Parkway and lists unsafe speed as a contributing factor. News reports say two NYPD officers from the 50th Precinct pursued the driver of a stolen 2025 Honda CRV south from the Bronx before he exited at Dyckman Street, crashed into a building and a fire followed. The officers were suspended while the NYPD and state attorney general reviewed their actions. Sources told the Daily News and Post that the officers left without reporting the crash; The Times reported that police were investigating whether they left the scene without reporting it.
A pursuit ended at Dyckman Street
Police and news accounts say two 50th Precinct officers pursued the driver of a stolen 2025 Honda CRV south on the Henry Hudson Parkway from the Bronx into Inwood early on April 2. Near the Dyckman Street exit, the driver crashed into a building and a fire followed.
Firefighters received a 911 call at 4:56 a.m., The New York Times reported. City crash data records the crash at 4:57 a.m. and lists one motorist killed. Emergency medical workers pronounced the driver dead at the scene.
Francisco Guzman Parra was identified after days of waiting
The New York Times reported that relatives of Francisco Guzman Parra searched for answers after he did not respond to messages. His stepmother, Carmen Colon, and his sister Francis went to the 50th Precinct and the 34th Precinct, and the medical examiner confirmed on April 9 that he was the driver who died.
Officers were suspended as investigators reviewed their actions
The Daily News and New York Post reported, citing sources, that the officers left the scene without helping the driver or reporting the crash after the Honda caught fire. The New York Times described the issue more cautiously, reporting that police were investigating whether the officers left without reporting it.
The NYPD Force Investigation Division and the state attorney general's office reviewed the case. The crash came months after Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch announced limits on pursuits for traffic violations and low-level crimes, though The Times reported that police said the initial pursuit appeared justified under the policy because stolen vehicles are treated as felonies.
The crash happened at the parkway exit into Inwood
News reports placed the crash near the Dyckman Street exit from the Henry Hudson Parkway, just off the exit at the edge of Inwood Hill Park. The official crash record lists Dyckman Street and the Henry Hudson Parkway area as the crash location.
The Times described a quiet Dyckman Street later that morning, with schoolchildren and people headed to a nearby park. A neighborhood resident, Jesse Taveras, told the paper he saw charred, twisted scraps of metal at the scene that afternoon.