Driver’s Medical Episode Preceded Fatal Bronx Bench Crash
Police said a 55-year-old driver had an apparent medical episode before hitting Ramonita Colon, 72, and a man seated on a bench at Co-op City Boulevard and Bartow Avenue, where the city recorded one pedestrian death and three injuries.
What We Know
Ramonita Colon, 72, was killed on April 21, 2026, at Co-op City Boulevard and Bartow Avenue in the Bronx. The city crash record lists one pedestrian killed and three people injured, with lost consciousness as a contributing factor. Police told reporters that a 55-year-old driver in a 2018 Mazda CX5 had an apparent medical episode, went onto the sidewalk and hit Colon and a man while they were seated on a bench. Colon was pronounced dead at the scene. The injured man and the driver were taken to Jacobi Medical Center. Reports differed on the injured man’s age and on whether the driver was traveling north on Co-op City Boulevard or Bartow Avenue.
A medical episode was reported before the sidewalk impact
The crash happened around 1:31 p.m. on April 21, 2026. The city record places it at Co-op City Boulevard and Bartow Avenue and lists one pedestrian killed, one pedestrian injured and two motorists injured.
Police told reporters that the 55-year-old driver of a 2018 Mazda CX5 suffered an apparent medical episode, went onto the sidewalk and hit two people who were sitting on a bench. Ramonita Colon, 72, was pinned beneath the Mazda and pronounced dead at the scene, according to police accounts quoted by local outlets.
Ramonita Colon was identified as the woman killed
Police identified the woman killed as Ramonita Colon, 72. The Daily News and Norwood News reported that Colon lived in the Wakefield section of the Bronx.
Police accounts in the reviewed stories agree that a man seated on the bench was injured and taken to Jacobi Medical Center, but the reports give different ages for him: 32, 36 and 38. Norwood News and CBS reported that the 55-year-old driver was also taken to a hospital in stable condition.
The driver was in a 2018 Mazda CX5
The city crash record lists a 2018 Mazda SUV traveling north and going straight ahead before the crash, with damage to the front and left-front areas. Police accounts published by multiple outlets described the vehicle as a 2018 Mazda CX5.
Most reviewed police accounts said the driver was traveling north on Co-op City Boulevard. NBC New York reported that he was traveling north on Bartow Avenue.
Lost consciousness is the recorded contributing factor
The city crash record lists lost consciousness as the contributing factor. Police spokespeople quoted by the Daily News, Norwood News, NBC New York and CBS New York described an apparent medical episode before the driver went off the roadway.
The Daily News reported that investigators believed the driver suffered a medical episode, while an NYPD spokesperson could not say specifically what caused him to lose control.
A fatal crash at a busy Co-op City intersection
The crash was recorded at Co-op City Boulevard and Bartow Avenue in the Bronx. CrashCountNYC’s location context identifies the corridor as Bartow Avenue in the Bronx.
Since 2022, CrashCountNYC’s Crash Finder counted 290 crashes, 187 injuries, 15 serious injuries and one death on the Bartow Avenue corridor.
Police said the investigation remained open
Norwood News and CBS New York reported that no arrests had been made and that the NYPD Highway District’s Collision Investigation Squad was continuing the investigation. CBS reported that the area was closed for hours while investigators examined the scene.
CBS New York quoted witnesses who described hearing a loud impact and seeing people rush to help Colon after she was pinned beneath the car.