Lifestyle | Newsbreak

One Driver Arrested, One Still at Large After Two NYC Hit-and-Runs Left Men Dead on the Same Morning

By Deborah Oladapo, on August 10, 2026

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The same Saturday morning in New York City, less than two hours apart, two men died after being struck by drivers who did not stop.

The first crash came at approximately 5:30 a.m. on August 8 in Hell’s Kitchen, where a 66-year-old man crossing Ninth Avenue was hit by a U.S. Postal Service box truck. Earlier, in the Bronx, a man believed to be in his 50s had been left unconscious in the roadway after a fight, then struck by two separate vehicles.

By Sunday, the cases had already split in sharply different directions. The NYPD announced the arrest of James Simmons, 61, of Queens, in connection with the Hell’s Kitchen hit-and-run. In the Bronx, the driver of a white BMW who fled after striking the man had not been publicly identified or located.

Both deaths raise the same immediate question about accountability on city streets. The evidence, sequence of events, and path toward answers, however, look very different.

A Fatal Crossing on Ninth Avenue

A 2019 U.S. Postal Service box truck was traveling southbound on Ninth Avenue when, according to reports, it struck an old man as he crossed in the middle of the block. He was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Investigators had several concrete leads almost immediately. The fleeing vehicle was reportedly identified as a postal truck, and surveillance footage from nearby businesses and an apartment building was being reviewed as police worked to reconstruct what happened.

By Saturday night, USPS spokesperson Xavier Hernandez issued a statement: “We are deeply saddened to hear of this accident. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of the deceased. The Postal Service is cooperating fully with law enforcement on the investigation.”

A highly recognizable vehicle, available surveillance footage, and a cooperating federal agency gave investigators a defined trail to follow. Within roughly 36 hours, that trail led to an arrest.

The Arrest of James Simmons

On Sunday, the NYPD announced that Simmons had been taken into custody in connection with the Hell’s Kitchen death.

He was booked for leaving the scene of an accident, with the charge specified as leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death. One issue remained unresolved: whether Simmons knew he had struck someone.

On Saturday, it was “not immediately clear if he knew he had hit someone,” and coverage following the arrest did not resolve that point. The central development was clear. Police had identified a suspect and made an arrest less than two days after the crash, moving the Manhattan investigation forward with unusual speed.

A More Complicated Night in the Bronx

The Bronx case began before dawn with a physical altercation outside 1059 College Avenue.

According to police, the victim was involved in a fight with another unidentified person and was “punched in the head during a fight.” He was later seen lying unconscious and unresponsive in the roadway near College Avenue and East 166th Street.

Roughly 10 minutes after the altercation, a white BMW X5 struck him as he remained in the road, and the driver left without stopping.

That immediately opened more than one investigative thread. The person who fought with the victim had not been publicly identified, and police had not said whether they were searching for that individual.

Another question complicated things: “It’s not clear whether the driver was involved in the fight.” With the BMW driver still unidentified, investigators were left examining both the collision and the events that placed the victim in the roadway.

When an NYPD Vehicle Also Struck the Victim

Shortly after the BMW fled, a marked NYPD SUV traveling eastbound struck the man as he remained in the roadway, and police said the officer stopped immediately and rendered aid.

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The vehicle was identified as a Strategic Response Group SUV, and it was “not believed that the SRG SUV was pursuing the BMW as the prone victim was run over.”

The NYPD Highway District Collision Investigation Squad is investigating the case. Surveillance video showed an officer helping the man after the collision. Still, no public information had established whether any footage captured the BMW’s license plate or whether the vehicle had been located.

As of Sunday evening, no suspect description had been publicly released. Investigators had the vehicle type and a detailed sequence of events, yet the BMW driver remained at large.

NYC Pedestrian Safety, by the Numbers

Photo Credit: onapalmtree via Shutterstock

The two deaths came during a year in which New York City had recorded a modest improvement in pedestrian fatalities.

As of Friday, August 7, 46 pedestrians had been killed by vehicles on city streets in 2026, per Bushwick Daily. NYC DOT data through late June 2026 recorded 46 pedestrian fatalities, compared with 53 at the same point the year before. Those figures use different reporting cutoffs, which accounts for the difference between the two totals. The city’s longer-term trend is also downward. 

NYC DOT’s own figures show a decline of more than 42% in pedestrian fatalities from the start of the Vision Zero program in 2014 through mid-2026. That progress provides important context for what has been happening across New York’s streets.

It does not explain the circumstances of either August 8 crash or answer the narrower question hanging over both cases: why a driver left after a fatal collision.

What Remains Open

As of this morning, neither victim had been publicly identified. Police said the Bronx victim’s name was being withheld pending family notification, and no name had been released for the Manhattan victim.

Fatal hit-and-runs remain part of New York’s recent record. The NYPD publishes annual and quarterly reports tracking leaving-the-scene complaints, arrests, and critical-injury cases citywide.

What makes the Bronx case stand apart is the chain of events itself: an assault, a man left unconscious in a roadway, a fleeing driver, and a marked NYPD vehicle that also struck him. Investigators still have not identified the BMW driver, established who else was involved in the fight, or clarified whether those figures are connected.

The Manhattan case has moved into a new phase with Simmons in custody. In the Bronx, the most basic questions about who fled and how the earlier fight connects to the fatal sequence remain open.

Both of these deaths happened in the early hours of a Saturday in a city known for constant activity and surveillance coverage.

What do you think could most change outcomes in situations like these: better street lighting, faster emergency response, tougher penalties for drivers who flee, or something else entirely?

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