Unlicensed Driver Charged After Major Deegan Pedestrian Death
Robert Blakney, whom police said lacked a valid driver’s license, hit and killed a 62-year-old man on the Major Deegan Expressway near East 233rd Street in the Bronx, according to police and the official crash record.
What We Know
A 62-year-old man died on the Major Deegan Expressway in Woodlawn after Robert Blakney, driving south in a Chevrolet Suburban, hit him near East 233rd Street at about 5 a.m. Police told the Daily News that Blakney did not have a valid license and was charged with aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle. The official crash record lists one pedestrian killed and one motorist injured, records the driver as unlicensed, and cites driver inexperience. The news account said the man was trying to cross the southbound lanes; the official person record describes him as walking along the highway against traffic and away from an intersection.
Official Crash Data
Collision ID
4876979
Date
February 6, 2026
Time
5:00 a.m.
Location
Major Deegan Expy
Fatalities
1
Pedestrians killed
1
Vehicles listed
SUV, Station Wagon/Sport Utility Vehicle
Contributing factors listed
Driver Inexperience
A pre-dawn fatality on the southbound expressway
The crash happened at about 5 a.m. on Feb. 6, 2026, on the Major Deegan Expressway. The official record lists a 62-year-old male pedestrian killed and one motorist injured.
The Daily News, citing officials, reported that Robert Blakney hit the man while driving a Chevrolet Suburban near East 233rd Street in Woodlawn. The man died at the scene, and Blakney was taken to Montefiore Medical Center with minor injuries.
The crash was reported in Woodlawn, near Van Cortlandt Park
The official crash record places the collision on the Major Deegan Expressway in the Bronx. The Daily News reported that it happened near East 233rd Street in Woodlawn, where the highway runs through Van Cortlandt Park.
Police identified the driver and withheld the pedestrian’s name
The Daily News reported that police identified the driver as Robert Blakney of Elmsford, New York. The victim’s name was not immediately released in that report.
The official record describes the person killed as a 62-year-old male pedestrian and records the driver as a male motorist with a New York license status of unlicensed.
The driver was in a Chevrolet SUV
The official vehicle record lists a 2009 Chevrolet station wagon or sport utility vehicle traveling south and going straight ahead before the crash. The Daily News described the vehicle as a Chevrolet Suburban.
Records cite driver inexperience; accounts differ on the pedestrian’s movement
The official crash record lists driver inexperience as a contributing factor for the driver. The person record also cites pedestrian error or confusion and describes the man as walking along the highway against traffic, away from an intersection.
The Daily News account said the man was trying to cross the southbound lanes when Blakney hit him.
Police made an unlicensed-driving arrest
The Daily News reported that police took Blakney into custody after learning he did not have a valid license and charged him with aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle. The paper also reported that southbound lanes of the Major Deegan were closed for several hours during the investigation.