Unlicensed Driver Charged After Major Deegan Pedestrian Death
At about 5 a.m. on Feb. 6, 2026, police said Robert Blakney, an unlicensed driver, hit and killed a 62-year-old man on the Major Deegan Expressway near East 233rd Street in Woodlawn.
What We Know
A 62-year-old man was killed on the Major Deegan Expressway in the Bronx at about 5 a.m. on Feb. 6, 2026. Police crash data recorded the crash on the Major Deegan and listed one pedestrian killed and one motorist injured. The Daily News, citing officials, reported that Robert Blakney was driving a Chevrolet Suburban near East 233rd Street in Woodlawn when he hit the man. The official record described the pedestrian as along the highway against traffic and not at an intersection, while the Daily News reported that he was trying to cross the southbound lanes. Police charged Blakney with aggravated unlicensed operation after authorities learned he did not have a valid license.
A fatal pre-dawn crash closed southbound lanes
The official crash record places the crash at about 5 a.m. on Feb. 6, 2026, on the Major Deegan Expressway and records one pedestrian killed and one motorist injured. CBS New York reported that all southbound lanes were temporarily shut down after a driver hit a man who was on the road.
The Daily News reported that police identified the driver as Robert Blakney. Authorities took him into custody after learning he did not have a valid driver’s license, and police charged him with aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle.
The crash happened near East 233rd Street in Woodlawn
The official record lists the crash on the Major Deegan Expressway in the Bronx. The Daily News reported that it happened near East 233rd Street in Woodlawn, where the expressway runs through Van Cortlandt Park.
The Daily News reported that all southbound lanes of the Major Deegan were shut down for several hours while police investigated.
Records and press accounts differ on the man’s movement
The official crash record identifies the person killed as a 62-year-old male pedestrian and describes him as not at an intersection and traveling along the highway against traffic. The Daily News, citing officials, reported that the man was trying to cross the southbound lanes when Blakney, driving a Chevrolet Suburban, hit him.
Police data listed a southbound Chevrolet SUV
The official vehicle record lists a 2009 Chevrolet sport utility vehicle traveling south and going straight before the crash, with front-end impact and damage recorded. The Daily News described the vehicle as a Chevrolet Suburban.
Blakney was treated, then charged
The Daily News reported that Blakney was taken to Montefiore Medical Center with minor injuries and that police learned there he did not have a valid license. The official crash record lists the driver’s license status as unlicensed and records driver inexperience as a contributing factor.