Hit-and-run driver fatally hits Lourdes Camilo in Melrose
The city recorded one pedestrian killed at Melrose Avenue and East 157th Street on Jan. 13, 2024, and news reports identified her as Lourdes Camilo, saying a hit-and-run driver first hit her near her Bronx home.
What We Know
The city crash record places the fatal collision at Melrose Avenue and East 157th Street at 7:11 p.m. on Jan. 13, 2024, with one 53-year-old woman killed while walking. News reports identified her as Lourdes Camilo, a Melrose resident. They said a first driver in a white Jeep SUV hit her and left northbound, and that the impact sent her into southbound traffic, where a second driver in a Jeep hit her. The second driver, also 53, stayed at the scene, the reports said. The official record and press accounts differ on vehicle descriptions: the record lists a northbound 2021 Jeep as a sedan and a southbound 2014 Jeep as an SUV, while the articles describe the first driver as being in an SUV and the second driver as being in a gray Jeep Wrangler or Jeep SUV.
A first driver left after the fatal impact
The city crash record says the crash happened at 7:11 p.m. on Jan. 13, 2024, at Melrose Avenue and East 157th Street in the Bronx. It records one pedestrian killed and no other injuries.
News reports identified the woman as 53-year-old Lourdes Camilo. The New York Post reported that she was waiting to cross, while amNewYork reported that she was crossing Melrose Avenue; both accounts said a first driver hit her and left the scene.
The reports said the first impact sent Camilo into southbound traffic, where another driver in a Jeep hit her. The second driver, a 53-year-old man, stayed at the scene, according to both reports.
Lourdes Camilo was near home in Melrose
amNewYork described Camilo as a 53-year-old Bronx woman from the Melrose section and reported that she was hit just steps from her home. First responders found her unconscious and unresponsive with severe traumatic injuries, and she was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the reports.
The articles said the hit-and-run driver had not been caught as of publication. The second driver remained at the scene, and amNewYork reported that the investigation was ongoing.
The vehicle descriptions differ by source
The city record lists two Jeep entries: a northbound 2021 Jeep classified as a sedan and a southbound 2014 Jeep classified as an SUV. Both entries list one licensed male driver and straight-ahead travel before the crash.
The news accounts described the first driver as being in a white SUV or Jeep SUV traveling northbound. They described the second driver as being in a gray Jeep Wrangler or Jeep SUV traveling southbound.
Recorded factors include driver inattention and signal disregard
The city record lists driver inattention or distraction for the northbound 2021 Jeep entry. For Camilo, the pedestrian record says she was at the intersection, crossing against the signal, and lists traffic-control disregard and pedestrian error or confusion as contributing factors.
The press accounts focused on the first driver's decision to leave after the crash. The New York Post reported that no arrests had been made, and amNewYork reported that the hit-and-run driver had not been caught while the investigation continued.
Melrose Avenue and East 157th Street had prior injuries
The crash happened in the Bronx at Melrose Avenue and East 157th Street, in the 10451 ZIP code, according to the city record.
amNewYork reported that, before Camilo was killed, the intersection had seen 12 injuries from 10 crashes over the previous decade, including injuries to seven pedestrians and five motorists, citing NYC Crash Mapper.