Hit-and-run Mercedes driver kills Kelvin Mitchell in Bronx
A driver in a black Mercedes-Benz hit 43-year-old Kelvin Mitchell near Webster Avenue and East 168th Street early May 10 and fled, police told reporters; city crash data recorded one pedestrian killed and unsafe speed.
What We Know
The city crash record places the fatal collision at Webster Avenue and East 168th Street at 12:44 a.m. on May 10, 2025, and lists unsafe speed for a southbound sedan. Police told reporters a driver in a black Mercedes-Benz hit Kelvin Mitchell, 43, on Webster Avenue and left the scene. News accounts describe the impact area as near East 168th Street, between East 168th and East 169th streets, or outside a nearby bodega, so public reports differ on the exact block. Mitchell was taken to Lincoln Hospital, where he died. Video reviewed by news outlets showed a black sedan speeding in a bus lane shortly before the crash, with an NYPD vehicle behind it; police did not confirm to reporters whether officers were chasing the driver.
A driver left after the fatal impact
City crash data records the crash at 12:44 a.m. on May 10, 2025, at Webster Avenue and East 168th Street in the Bronx. The record lists one pedestrian killed and unsafe speed as a contributing factor for a southbound sedan.
Police told reporters that a driver in a black Mercedes-Benz was traveling south on Webster Avenue when the driver hit Kelvin Mitchell, 43. EMS took Mitchell to Lincoln Hospital, where he died, and the driver did not remain at the scene.
Reports place the crash on a short stretch of Webster Avenue
The official record identifies Webster Avenue at East 168th Street. News accounts place the impact near East 168th Street, between East 168th and East 169th streets, or outside a nearby bodega, while one early ABC7 report listed East 160th Street and Webster Avenue.
News 12 reported that the area is near several cross streets the city treats as Vision Zero priority corridors and intersections, where city data has shown high concentrations of pedestrians killed or severely injured.
Kelvin Mitchell was remembered as a father and neighbor
The Daily News identified the pedestrian as Kelvin Mitchell and reported that he lived nearby in Webster Houses. Relatives and neighbors described him to reporters as a father of three, a recent grandfather, a construction worker, and a longtime presence in the neighborhood.
ABC7 reported that candles and condolences were placed outside Mitchell's home after the crash. Streetsblog reported that memorials honored him near his apartment building and outside the bodega he had recently left.
Speed and a possible pursuit remain central questions
The city crash record lists unsafe speed for the southbound sedan. News 12 and the Daily News reported that video showed a black car speeding in a bus lane shortly before the crash.
Streetsblog reported that video showed an NYPD van pursuing the speeding Mercedes before the crash, but also reported that it was unclear whether the chase caused the driver to speed or whether the driver was speeding beforehand. The NYPD declined to answer Streetsblog's questions about whether officers were chasing the driver, and a police spokesman told the Daily News that police could not confirm whether a pursuit occurred.
Police searched for the driver
The Daily News reported that the NYPD Collision Investigation Squad was reviewing surveillance cameras in the area in an effort to identify the Mercedes-Benz and its driver. News 12 reported that police asked anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.