Driver Indicted After East Harlem Pedestrian Death
On July 29, 2024, at First Avenue and East 105th Street, prosecutors said Angel Melendez drove recklessly and set off a chain reaction in which 51-year-old pedestrian Nadjari Reid was killed.
What We Know
The city crash record logged a fatal pedestrian crash at 3:42 p.m. at First Avenue and East 105th Street, with one pedestrian killed, one pedestrian injured and two motorists injured. Prosecutors later identified the driver as Angel Melendez and alleged he sped and swerved along First Avenue before going through a steady red light at East 105th Street and setting off a chain reaction among parked vehicles. The indictment charged him with manslaughter, assault, reckless endangerment and endangering the welfare of a child. The official vehicle record cited alcohol involvement and unsafe speed for the northbound Mercedes sedan.
A chain reaction after a red light
City records place the crash at 3:42 p.m. on July 29, 2024, at First Avenue and East 105th Street in Manhattan. They record one pedestrian killed, one pedestrian injured and two motorists injured.
Prosecutors alleged that Angel Melendez drove a white Mercedes-Benz fast up First Avenue between East 96th and East 105th streets, swerved between lanes to avoid cars and pedestrians, hit a woman’s shopping cart, and then went through a steady red light at East 105th Street. Court documents described a chain reaction after he hit a parked motorcycle and car; a parked car was pushed into another parked car and into Nadjari Reid, who was standing between two vehicles.
The crash unfolded on First Avenue in East Harlem
The official record locates the fatal crash at First Avenue and East 105th Street in Manhattan’s 10029 ZIP code. The article described the alleged driving path as First Avenue between East 96th and East 105th streets, with the final chain reaction at the northwest corner of First Avenue and East 105th Street.
Who was hurt
Prosecutors identified the man killed as Nadjari Reid, 51, and described him as a lifelong New Yorker. The city crash record lists the fatal victim as a 51-year-old male pedestrian.
The city record lists one pedestrian injury and two motorist injuries. The article reported that a second pedestrian was injured after getting out of the way, and that Melendez’s 14-year-old son was in the Mercedes at the time.
The records describe a Mercedes and parked vehicles
Detailed city vehicle records list a northbound 2007 Mercedes sedan changing lanes, along with a parked motorcycle, a parked SUV, a parked box truck and a parked sedan. The article, citing court documents, described Melendez as driving a white Mercedes-Benz and hitting a parked motorcycle and car.
Speed and alcohol were central to the record and the charges
The official crash record cites alcohol involvement, and the Mercedes entry lists alcohol involvement and unsafe speed as contributing factors. Prosecutors alleged that Melendez sped, swerved, narrowly missed pedestrians and went through a steady red light before the chain reaction.