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52-Year-Old Male Pedestrian Killed While Crossing Major Deegan Expressway, Driver Arrested

POLICE ARE SEEN on the Major Deegan Expressway in the vicinity of Jerome Avenue on Friday morning, Feb. 6, 2026, after a pedestrian was struck by a Chevy Suburban and killed earlier that morning. 
Image courtesy of the Citizens’ App

A 47-year-old man has been arrested following a fatal vehicle collision on the Major Deegan Expressway on Friday morning, Feb. 6, police said.

 

According to the NYPD, the incident occurred at around 5 a.m. on Friday when officers responded to a 911 call of a vehicle collision on  the Major Deegan Expressway in the vicinity of Jerome Avenue within the confines of the 50th Precinct.

 

“Further investigation by the NYPD Highway District Collision Investigation Squad determined that a 2009 Chevy Surburban operated by a 47-year-old man was traveling southbound on the Major Deegan Expressway, when he struck a 52-year-old pedestrian who was crossing east to west on the Major Deegan Expressway,” an NYPD spokeswoman said.

 

“The pedestrian sustained severe trauma to the head and body. EMS responded and pronounced the pedestrian deceased on scene,” the spokeswoman said, adding that the driver of the vehicle remained on scene and was transported by EMS to Montefiore Einstein Hospital for evaluation.

THE AREA NORTHWEST of Allen Shandler Recreation area in Van Cortlandt Park, north of Norwood, is roughly the location of where a 52-year-old pedestrian was killed on Friday morning, Feb. 6, 2026, when he was struck by a Checy Suburban being driven by a 47-year-old man from Elmford, NY.  
Image courtesy of Google Maps

Police said the identity of the deceased is being withheld pending proper family notification. They said that pursuant to an ongoing investigation, the driver of the vehicle, Robert Blakney, 47, of Elmford, NY, was arrested Friday at 6.50 a.m. in the confines of the 50th Precinct. They said he was charged with being an “aggravated unlicensed operator.” Blakney is presumed innocent unless and until convicted in a court of law.

 

NYPD Highway District Collision Investigation Squad investigates any criminal aspects of such collisions, while DOT reviews the street design at the crash locations.

 

NYPD Highway District Collision Investigation Squad later said the pedestrian had sustained “severe trauma to the head and body” before he was pronounced deceased at the scene by EMS.

 

The latest available traffic fatality statistics in the 50th Precinct as of Feb. 1, are attached below.

MAJOR CRIME STATISTICS for the 50th Precinct for the 28-day period ending Feb. 1, 2026, compared to last year (left), and year-to-date major crime statistics for the 50th Precinct as of Feb. 1, 2026, compared to last year (right). This precinct covers some or all of Kingsbridge, Fieldston, Riverdale, Marble Hill, and Spuyten Duyvil.

Source: NYPD via Compstat

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crimestoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/, or on X @NYPDTips.

 

All calls are strictly confidential.

 

 

 

Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.

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