Driver in Subaru hits disabled Honda; man dies on Deegan
A 61-year-old driver in a Subaru hit a disabled Honda on the Major Deegan Expressway near Van Cortlandt Park South around 4:12 a.m. on Aug. 13, 2023, and police said 22-year-old Justin Francisco died after being thrown into northbound traffic.
What We Know
Justin Francisco, 22, had exited a disabled Honda on the southbound Major Deegan Expressway near Van Cortlandt Park South early on Aug. 13, 2023. Police told Norwood News that a 61-year-old driver in a Subaru hit the Honda, pushing it into Francisco. Police said the impact sent him over the center wall into northbound traffic, where a 37-year-old driver in a Jeep Wrangler hit him. The official crash record lists one pedestrian killed and one motorist injured, with slippery pavement recorded as a contributing factor.
A disabled Honda in the left lane became the center of the crash
Police told Norwood News that Justin Francisco, 22, had been driving a 2018 Honda Accord south on the Major Deegan when he lost control on wet pavement, struck a wall and stopped in the left southbound lane. After he got out to inspect the damage, police said a 61-year-old driver in a 2021 Subaru hit the Honda, pushing it into Francisco.
Police said the force sent Francisco over the center wall into northbound lanes, where a 37-year-old driver in a Jeep Wrangler hit him. Police said the Jeep driver then lost control, hit the right-side wall and overturned. The official record lists one pedestrian killed and one motorist injured.
Near Van Cortlandt Park South on the Major Deegan
The official crash record places the fatal collision on the Major Deegan Expressway in the Bronx at 4:12 a.m. Press accounts located it near Van Cortlandt Park South and, in Norwood News, near 238th Street in the North Bronx.
The location mattered because the crash crossed the expressway divider: police said Francisco was thrown from the southbound side into oncoming northbound lanes.
Justin Francisco was outside his disabled Honda
Police identified the person killed as Justin Francisco, 22, of Mount Vernon. The official record records him as a pedestrian not at an intersection, and police told Norwood News he had exited the Honda before the drivers in the Subaru and Jeep became involved.
Police said the Jeep driver, a 37-year-old man, was taken to St. Barnabas Hospital in critical condition. The Daily News reported that the 61-year-old Subaru driver refused medical attention at the scene.
Wet pavement was recorded as a factor
The official crash record lists slippery pavement as a contributing factor, and the Subaru entry also lists a limited or obstructed view. Police told Norwood News that the Honda driver lost control on the wet roadway before the later impacts, and that the Jeep driver lost control on the wet roadway after hitting Francisco.
Police closed lanes while investigators worked
The Daily News reported that both northbound and southbound lanes were closed for several hours during the NYPD investigation. Norwood News, citing state officials, reported detours to the Van Cortlandt Park South exit before all lanes later reopened.