A 33-year-old Florida man has been arrested following a deadly hit-and-run that occurred early Friday morning on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
Authorities said the crash happened shortly after 4:30 a.m. near the intersection of Lexington Avenue and East 61st Street. The victim, identified as 44-year-old Terill Jenkins, was walking in the area when he was struck by a tractor-trailer. The driver allegedly continued driving without stopping.
Witness Charlie Reyes said he was passing by when he noticed Jenkins lying in the roadway and stopped to help. According to Reyes, bystanders moved Jenkins onto the sidewalk as emergency responders were called. He described the victim as being in critical condition and said he tried to offer words of encouragement while they waited for assistance.
Despite those efforts, Jenkins later succumbed to his injuries.
Police said that around 7 a.m., several hours after the incident, Vincent Spano, 33, walked into a Brooklyn police precinct and told officers he believed he might have hit something earlier that morning. Investigators connected him to the fatal crash, and he was taken into custody.
Spano, who is from Palm Harbor, Florida, has been charged with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death and failure to exercise due care.
Authorities indicated that Jenkins had been heading to his job at a Home Depot on First Avenue at the time of the crash. The investigation remains ongoing.
