Driver Charged After Fatal Upper East Side Oil Truck Crash
A 44-year-old pedestrian was killed at Lexington Avenue and East 61st Street, where prosecutors said Vincent Spano backed an oil truck into Terrill Jenkins, checked on him, and left before later turning himself in.
What We Know
Official crash records place the crash around half past 4 AM on March 20, 2026, at Lexington Avenue and East 61st Street in Manhattan, where a 44-year-old pedestrian was killed. The records list a tanker, the driver’s pre-crash movement as backing, and unsafe backing as a contributing factor. Prosecutors said Vincent Spano backed an oil truck through the intersection and over Terrill Jenkins in the crosswalk, checked on him, and left; police said he later turned himself in and was charged. Public accounts do not fully align on the truck’s path: early reports described a southbound vehicle, while the official vehicle record lists northbound travel and backing.
Before dawn, a driver backed through the intersection
The crash happened before dawn on March 20, 2026. The city record logs it at 4:40 a.m.; prosecutors cited by the Daily News described Vincent Spano backing an oil truck through the intersection around 4:49 a.m. while Terrill Jenkins was in the crosswalk.
According to the criminal complaint described by the Daily News, Spano stopped, got out, checked on Jenkins, returned to the truck, and left. ABC7 also reported that police said Spano backed into the victim with his truck and drove away.
First responders found Jenkins in the roadway with severe injuries and took him to NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, where he died about three hours later.
Terrill Jenkins was heading to work nearby
The Daily News identified the pedestrian as Terrill Jenkins, 44, of Harlem. A later Daily News account reported that Jenkins was heading to a Home Depot job about three blocks from the crash location.
The same report said Jenkins was able to call coworkers while losing consciousness, and that family members criticized the driver for leaving and wanted to see video of what happened.
Records and reports describe an oil truck, with early direction details differing
The city vehicle record identifies a 2004 KW-Truck/Bus tanker with one licensed male driver, lists the truck as northbound before backing, and records left rear bumper impact and damage.
Prosecutors described a dark-green and red oil truck. ABC7's first-day account described a southbound vehicle; the later complaint account and the city record describe a truck driver backing.
Unsafe backing is listed in the official record
The city crash record lists backing unsafely as the contributing factor for the truck driver. The fatal pedestrian record says Jenkins was at the intersection, crossing against the signal, and lists traffic control disregarded for him.
Press accounts citing prosecutors and the criminal complaint described Jenkins as being in the crosswalk when Spano backed through the intersection.
Spano was charged after turning himself in
The Daily News reported that Vincent Spano, 33, of Palm Harbor, Florida, turned himself in at the NYPD's 76th Precinct stationhouse in Brooklyn around 7 a.m. and told police he was responsible for the deadly collision.
Where
Lexington Ave & E 61st St, Manhattan