Police said Monday they were looking for a man who ran away after crashing his car into a disabled vehicle on the Major Deegan Expressway and killing its driver over the weekend.
The collision happened around 3:45 a.m. Saturday near Fordham Road in University Heights, NYPD officials said. A 39-year-old man driving a Ford Crown Victoria sedan had come to a stop between the acceleration and right lanes on the expressway’s southbound side, officials said.
A Mercedes-Benz sedan then crashed into the back of the Ford, according to police. The Mercedes driver, whom the NYPD said was wearing a blue jacket, fled the scene on foot.
The driver of the Ford was taken to Saint Barnabas Hospital in critical condition and was later pronounced dead. Police identified him as Darryl Mathis of Elizabeth, New Jersey.
The NYPD Highway District’s Collision Investigation Squad was still looking into the incident, and the department has not announced any arrests.
Traffic crashes have decreased so far this year in the NYPD’s 52nd Precinct, which includes University Heights and other northern Bronx neighborhoods like Bedford Park and Kingsbridge, according to police data. There were 291 crashes in the precinct through March 16 of last year, compared to 246 in the same period this year, the data shows.
Mathis is the first person to die in a crash in the precinct so far this year, according to the data.
This story is based on preliminary information from police and may be updated.
