Driver Arrested After Bronx Hit-and-Run That Killed Edwin Rivera
A pickup driver fatally hit 62-year-old pedestrian Edwin Rivera at Broadway and West 238th Street at 4:34 a.m. on Dec. 31, 2022, and a later report said detectives arrested Algenis Chavez in the hit-and-run.
What We Know
Edwin Rivera, 62, was crossing near Broadway and West 238th Street in Kingsbridge before dawn on Dec. 31, 2022, when a driver in a pickup hit him. The city crash record lists driver inattention or distraction and records Rivera as crossing against the signal. Police told reporters the driver left the scene; medics took Rivera to NewYork-Presbyterian Allen Hospital, where he died. A later report said detectives arrested Algenis Chavez in the case, while his lawyer said he intended to prove his innocence. Press accounts described Rivera as an artist with deep East Harlem ties who had moved to an assisted-living facility in the Bronx.
A predawn crash at a Kingsbridge intersection
The city crash record says a pickup driver hit and killed a 62-year-old pedestrian at Broadway and West 238th Street in the Bronx at 4:34 a.m. on Dec. 31, 2022. Police told reporters the driver of a Dodge Ram was heading north on Broadway, hit Edwin Rivera, and left the scene.
Police responding to a 911 call found Rivera unconscious and unresponsive with trauma across his body, Patch reported. Medics took him to NewYork-Presbyterian Allen Hospital, where he died.
Broadway has remained a dangerous Bronx corridor
The crash happened at Broadway and West 238th Street in Kingsbridge. CrashCountNYC’s Broadway-Bronx corridor data show 547 crashes, 321 injuries, 24 serious injuries and 4 deaths since 2022.
Family and friends described Rivera as an artist
Press accounts tied Rivera to both East Harlem and the Bronx. The Daily News reported that he had lived in East Harlem with his sister before moving to an assisted-living facility in the Bronx; Patch described him as an East Harlem man who lived at the Wagner Houses.
Rivera’s aunt Maggie Mendez told the Daily News, “He was a loner but he was a good person,” and said, “He drew paintings. It’s broken my heart because he was like a son.” A later report said Rivera’s sister Carmen Rivera told the Daily News that he had dementia and lasting injuries from an earlier hit-and-run.
A later arrest report conflicted with one official detail
Initial reports said police had made no arrests as investigators searched for the driver. A later report said detectives arrested Algenis Chavez, 43, in connection with the hit-and-run, that a Bronx Criminal Court judge released him without bail after arraignment, and that his attorney said Chavez intended to prove his innocence.
The official vehicle record lists the pickup driver as female, while the later press account identified Chavez as the arrested person in the case. That discrepancy is part of the public record surrounding the crash.