Driver Charged After Two Men Killed on Amsterdam Avenue
The city crash record lists two pedestrians killed and four people injured at Amsterdam Avenue and West 109th Street on May 15, 2026; police and prosecutors said Elvin Suarez drove onto the sidewalk while drunk and was charged in the deaths.
What We Know
On May 15, 2026, a driver heading north on Amsterdam Avenue near West 109th Street went onto a pedestrian island and sidewalk, according to police accounts reported by local news. The city crash record lists two pedestrians killed, two pedestrians injured and two motorists injured, with alcohol involvement recorded as a contributing factor. Police identified the driver as Elvin Suarez and charged him with DWI and manslaughter-related counts. Jason Negron, 46, and Michael Saint-Hilaire, 35, were killed. Reports differ on parts of the injury count and sequence: early coverage said five pedestrians were hit outside a barbershop, while later police and prosecutor accounts described four pedestrians and a man in an occupied van among the injured.
Police described a northbound driver leaving the roadway
The crash happened around 6 p.m. on May 15, 2026. The city crash record places it at Amsterdam Avenue and West 109th Street and records two pedestrians killed, two pedestrians injured and two motorists injured.
CBS New York reported that police said Elvin Suarez, 61, was driving north on Amsterdam Avenue in a 2019 Mercedes-Benz GLC 300 SUV when he went over a concrete island and hit pedestrians near West 109th Street. Police said he had already collided with a parked 2013 Volkswagen Jetta before the intersection and did not stop, then hit a parked Chevrolet van, causing a chain-reaction collision involving other parked cars.
Jason Negron and Michael Saint-Hilaire were killed
Police identified the men who died as Jason Negron, 46, and Michael Saint-Hilaire, 35, both of Manhattan. The official crash record lists both fatal victims as male pedestrians.
The Daily News reported that Saint-Hilaire was a father of triplets who worked at Mount Sinai Health System. ABC7 reported that Negron had worked as a doorman for 20 years, and his daughter said the community was greatly shattered by his death.
Reports differed on who else was hurt
The city crash record lists two pedestrians injured and two motorists injured. Early reports from ABC7 and Gothamist said five pedestrians were hit, with two killed and three others critically injured. Later CBS reporting, citing police, described four pedestrians hit and a man in an occupied van taken to the hospital, with the surviving injured people in stable condition.
The crash record and police accounts describe a chain reaction
The city crash record lists a northbound 2019 Mercedes SUV going straight ahead before impact and multiple parked vehicles, including a 2013 Volkswagen Jetta, a 1999 Chevrolet Astro van, a 2005 Honda CR-V, a 2001 Toyota Sienna and a 2005 Toyota 4Runner.
CBS New York reported that police identified the Mercedes as a 2019 Mercedes-Benz GLC 300 SUV and said Suarez hit a parked Chevrolet van after hitting pedestrians. Police said that impact led to a chain reaction involving more parked cars. CBS identified a 2014 Nissan Altima in that chain reaction; the official record does not list that same make and model in the vehicle entries provided for this crash.
Police and prosecutors focused on alcohol
The city crash record lists alcohol involvement as a contributing factor for the driver in the Mercedes SUV. Police arrested Suarez and charged him with manslaughter-related counts, vehicular assault and DWI, according to CBS New York.
Reports gave different alcohol-test figures. The Daily News and the New York Post reported a 0.1 result, while Gothamist reported that prosecutors said a hospital breath test showed a 0.131 blood alcohol level. Both reported figures were above the 0.08 legal threshold cited in the coverage.
Gothamist reported that Suarez's attorney did not comment on the drunk-driving allegation in court and said Suarez had serious medical conditions, asking to examine whether a medical episode could have played a role. The attorney also said the crash was not intentional.
Neighbors tried to help, then gathered to mourn
Witnesses and neighbors described people trying to lift the Mercedes SUV off Negron after the crash. The Daily News quoted neighbor Louis Lopez saying about 40 people tried to move it but could not.
ABC7 reported that flowers and candles filled the sidewalk on Amsterdam Avenue by 109th Street, and mourners also gathered around the corner and at Negron's building. The Daily News reported that hundreds attended services for Saint-Hilaire at Abbey Funeral Directors and a funeral Mass at Ascension Roman Catholic Church.
Where
Amsterdam Ave & W 109th St, Manhattan