Driver Charged After Fatal Henry Hudson Parkway Hit-and-Run
Police said Luis Acosta hit 23-year-old Victor Jose Benitez on the southbound Henry Hudson Parkway near West 153rd Street on May 8, 2022; city records list the crash at 2:31 p.m. and record one pedestrian killed.
What We Know
On May 8, 2022, city records show one pedestrian was killed at 2:31 p.m. on the Henry Hudson Parkway. The Daily News, citing police, identified him as Victor Jose Benitez, 23, and said he had run across the southbound side near West 153rd Street when Luis Acosta hit him while driving. Police said Acosta left without stopping; EMS took Benitez to Harlem Hospital, where he died. Detectives arrested Acosta about 11 days later, and police charged him with leaving the scene of an accident when an injury occurred. A judge released him without bail after arraignment. City data lists driver inattention/distraction for the sedan entry and a pedestrian error/confusion factor for Benitez.
Police said the driver left after the impact
City crash data records one pedestrian killed at 2:31 p.m. on May 8, 2022, on the Henry Hudson Parkway. The official vehicle entry lists a licensed male driver in a 2013 Ford sedan traveling south and going straight before the crash.
The Daily News, citing police, identified the driver as Luis Acosta and the pedestrian as Victor Jose Benitez, 23. Police said Benitez had run across the southbound side near West 153rd Street when Acosta hit him and then left without stopping.
Victor Jose Benitez died at Harlem Hospital
EMS took Benitez to Harlem Hospital, where he died of his injuries, according to the police account reported by the Daily News. The official record identifies the person killed as a 23-year-old male pedestrian.
Luis Acosta
Police said detectives arrested Acosta about 11 days after the crash. Police charged him with leaving the scene of an accident when an injury occurred, and a Manhattan Criminal Court judge ordered him released without bail after arraignment.
Southbound Henry Hudson Parkway near West 153rd Street
The Daily News placed the crash on the southbound side of the Henry Hudson Parkway near West 153rd Street in Washington Heights. City data lists the crash on the Henry Hudson Parkway and describes the pedestrian location as away from an intersection.
Investigators recorded driver inattention and pedestrian conduct
The official vehicle entry lists driver inattention/distraction as a contributing factor and also lists pedestrian error/confusion. The fatal-person record uses the same pedestrian factor and describes Benitez’s action as other actions in the roadway.
The Daily News reported, citing police sources, that detectives believed Benitez was high on drugs when he ran onto the highway.