Hit-and-run driver kills Bronx pedestrian on Melrose Avenue

Two drivers were involved, and one left

The official record places the fatal crash at 7:11 p.m. on Jan. 13, 2024, at Melrose Avenue and East 157th Street, and records one pedestrian, a 53-year-old woman, killed.

amNY reported that a driver in a Jeep SUV hit the woman while she was crossing Melrose Avenue near East 157th Street at about 7:15 p.m. and left northbound. The impact threw her into southbound traffic, where a second driver in another Jeep SUV also hit her and remained at the scene.

News outlets identified the woman, with a spelling difference

The Post and amNY identified the pedestrian as Lourdes Camilo, 53. News12 spelled the name Lordes Camillo and described her as a mother and grandmother who had walked out of her apartment building on Melrose Avenue before the crash.

Records and reports point to signal timing and driver attention

The official pedestrian record says the woman was at the intersection and crossing against the signal, and lists traffic control disregarded and pedestrian error or confusion as contributing factors. News12 reported that surveillance video appeared to show she did not have the light when she crossed.

The official vehicle record lists driver inattention or distraction for the northbound driver. The official vehicle table identifies that northbound driver's vehicle type as a sedan, while press accounts described the first driver as operating a Jeep SUV or Jeep Grand Cherokee.

Police were seeking the driver who left

The reviewed articles reported that the first driver had not been caught and that no arrests had been made. News12 reported that a witness identified as Jorge called 911 and moved a garbage can into the street to keep the woman from being hit again.

News12 also reported that friends and neighbors created a small memorial outside her apartment.