A driver who fatally struck a construction worker on an Upper Manhattan bridge last year is facing charges after turning himself in to police Tuesday, authorities said.
Jesus Juarez, 36, was arrested in connection with the death of 41-year-old Herb Henry Alesna on the Washington Bridge over the Harlem River on Aug. 2, 2024. Police said Juarez was driving a Dodge Durango SUV across the bridge around 10:30 p.m. when he changed lanes and collided with a Toyota Highlander SUV, then swung back into the right lane — hitting a parked construction truck and Alesna, who was standing alongside it. Alesna, a Maspeth resident, was killed and pronounced dead on site.
NYPD officials said Juarez stayed at the scene, as did the Toyota’s driver, and neither were injured. Police did not make any arrests at the time.
Juarez was taken into custody in the 5th Precinct in southeastern Manhattan on Tuesday morning, according to the NYPD. He was charged with reckless driving, failing to yield to a pedestrian and failing to exercise due care. Court records show he then faced a judge in the borough and was granted supervised release pending his next court date.
“It was a tragic accident, and he remained at the scene,” Juarez’s lawyer Julie Rendelman told Gothamist. She said he turned himself in with legal representation after police requested he do so, following a more than yearlong investigation.
Police said he lives in Washington Heights, about a mile and a half from the crash site.
This is a developing story based on preliminary information from police and may be updated.
