USPS Driver Charged in Fatal Hell's Kitchen Hit-and-Run
Everybody Knows Chet
USPS employee James Simmons, 61, was charged with leaving the scene after he fatally hit Chester "Chet" Mazur, 66, on Ninth Avenue in Hell's Kitchen as Mazur was returning from a final show, police said.
Reported by press, not yet linked to NYC police crash records. This may change when new official records become available or when matching details are reviewed.
Approximate reported location.
What We Know
USPS employee James Simmons, 61, was driving a postal box truck downtown on Ninth Avenue at about 5:30 a.m. on Aug. 8, 2026, when he hit Chester "Chet" Mazur near West 55th Street and continued from the scene, police said. Mazur, 66, was taken to NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell and died. Investigators later charged Simmons with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death. Press accounts identified Mazur as a longtime downtown performer and vocalist for The Rasslers who was coming home from a Friday night show; friends described his death as a shock to the city's music community.
What police said happened before dawn
Police said the crash happened just after 5:30 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 8, on Ninth Avenue between West 54th and West 55th streets in Hell's Kitchen.
Police said Simmons was driving downtown on Ninth Avenue in a postal service box truck when he hit Mazur near West 55th Street and continued from the scene. Emergency medical workers took Mazur to NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell, where he died.
Reports differed on the exact crossing point. ABC7 and the Daily News reported that police described Mazur as crossing midblock; a CBS News New York report said police described him as being in the crosswalk.
The Ninth Avenue block was close to home
The fatal crash occurred in Hell's Kitchen on Ninth Avenue between West 54th and West 55th streets, near the corner of West 55th Street.
The Daily News reported that Mazur was on the block where he lived, and CBS New York reported that he was steps from his West 55th Street apartment.
Mazur was remembered as a downtown music fixture
News reports identified Mazur as Chester "Chet" Mazur, a 66-year-old vocalist for The Rasslers and a longtime presence in the Lower East Side and downtown music scenes. The Daily News reported that he had performed at Otto's Shrunken Head late Friday and was on his way home.
Friend Michael Jung told CBS New York, "Everybody knows Chet and everybody loves Chet." Jung also told the Daily News that Mazur "was in a great mood" the night before he died.
An arrest followed the same day
Police arrested Simmons on Saturday afternoon, and investigators charged him with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death.
According to the Daily News, a criminal complaint said a postal inspector tracked the white 2019 Peterbilt box truck and police found a long gray hair matching Mazur's distinctive hair on its grille. The Daily News reported that Simmons was released without bail after his arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court on Sunday.
USPS said it was cooperating with law enforcement. In a statement reported by ABC7, the Postal Service said, "Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of the deceased."