Bronx cyclist dead after fatal hit and run, NYPD says
Feb. 24, 2024, 11:36 a.m.
The driver of a Jeep Grand Cherokee hit the bicyclist and fled the scene, according to police.
A driver accused by police of fatally striking a cyclist who ran a red light early Friday is still at large after fleeing the scene of the crash, according to officials.
Bronx resident Thierno Balde, 24, was biking along East 161st Street shortly before 6 a.m. Friday in the Melrose section of the Bronx when police say he blew through a red light while crossing the intersection at Melrose Avenue.
The driver of a Jeep Grand Cherokee traveling on Melrose plowed into the cyclist and fled the scene, according to the NYPD.
Balde was rushed to NYC Health and Hospitals/Lincoln, where he was pronounced dead.
While the city has made gains in street safety under former Mayor Bill de Blasio's Vision Zero plan, last year was one of the deadliest for city cyclists on record: 29 people died on bikes in 2023 — 22 of them on e-bikes.
No arrests have been made in Friday's crash.
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