Driver charged in Bronx hit-and-run that killed e-bike rider
Police said Edward Montero drove a Jeep Grand Cherokee into 24-year-old Thierno Balde at Melrose Avenue and East 161st Street at 5:58 a.m. on Feb. 23, 2024; the official record identifies Balde as the e-bike rider killed.
What We Know
Thierno Balde, 24, was riding an e-bike at Melrose Avenue and East 161st Street shortly before 6 a.m. on Feb. 23, 2024, when police said a driver in a Jeep Grand Cherokee hit him and left the scene. City crash records list one cyclist killed and cite unsafe speed and traffic control disregarded as contributing factors. Police later said Balde crossed eastbound against a red light while the driver traveled southbound with a green light. Nearly a year later, police arrested Edward Montero and charged him with second-degree manslaughter and leaving the scene without reporting. An earlier Post account described the fleeing driver as a woman; police later identified Montero as the driver.
Police said the driver left after the crash
The crash happened shortly before 6 a.m. on Feb. 23, 2024. Police said Thierno Balde was riding along East 161st Street when he entered the intersection at Melrose Avenue, and a driver in a Jeep Grand Cherokee hit him and fled.
Investigators later said Edward Montero was driving south on Melrose Avenue with a green light, while Balde crossed eastbound after ignoring a steady red light. City records list the crash as involving an SUV and an e-bike, with one cyclist killed.
A signalized Bronx intersection became the crash scene
The official record places the crash at Melrose Avenue and East 161st Street in the Bronx. Police accounts described a signal dispute at the intersection: investigators said the driver had a green light and Balde crossed against a steady red light.
After the crash, Balde was taken to NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln, where police said he was pronounced dead.
Balde’s family described a young immigrant building a future
Relatives told the Post that Balde, a native of Guinea, had moved to New York five months earlier, was studying English, and was on his way to morning prayers at a nearby mosque when the crash happened.
His brother Mamadou Balde said Thierno had earned a bachelor’s degree in bank insurance in Guinea and hoped to pursue bank insurance or computer science in the United States. The family urged the driver to come forward and asked for justice.
Records cited speed and a traffic signal violation
The city crash record lists unsafe speed and traffic control disregarded as contributing factors. Press accounts attributed the traffic-signal violation to Balde, saying police believed he crossed against a red light; the official vehicle entries separately associate unsafe speed with the SUV and traffic control disregarded with the e-bike.
The Post reported surveillance footage showing the person behind the wheel continue for two blocks before stopping and walking away. That early account described the driver as a woman, while police later arrested Montero and identified him as the driver.
An arrest came nearly a year later
Authorities did not disclose how investigators linked Montero to the crash, and amNewYork reported that the case remained under investigation.